Encroachment
by Witch of Swords
Summary: The Justice League, along with the Titans and numerous other organizations, are investigating a global case of museum and private collection robberies, only objects of supposedly incredible power being taken. With every mystic on edge over who would collect all the dangerous items, many battles and much strangeness will come. Jinx/Raven. M for a reason.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

_Warning for the series: This series is rated M for a reason, and shouldn't be read by the immature, regardless of their age. Violence, language, and lesbian romance involving sex are just some of those reasons. Consider yourselves duly warned, and enjoy!_

The night of the new moon was incredibly fortuitous for the group of thieves moving through the museum.

Five of them move through the thick shadows, making not a sound.

They finally reach their goal, a large display case full of sparkling gems and jewels.

The tiny pieces of card-stock beneath each one all report some mystical properties, or some sultan that supposedly had originally owned them.

For the former H.I.V.E. students, though, only the money mattered at all.

To the right buyer, the gems could be worth a small fortune each, and that was if they just turned out to be pretty chunks of rock. If their powers were anything close to what was claimed, then they could be set for life by the new group setting up shop all around.

A man with a cowl in the form of an owl steps out of the shadows, his black cloak revealing little more than the coverage had.

A powerful, red glow rises from the hexagonal gemstone hanging from his neck, and the glow becomes like an aura, wrapping around his body.

A pool of darkness coats his extended hand, and the missing section above his elbow appears behind the display case's glass.

From his open palm, the red light dispels, shooting through the wiring in the glass and shorting the wiring to the security system.

Giving a satisfied nod, seemingly to nobody but himself, he retracts his hand and points at one of the other lurking shadows.

A hulking man in golden armor steps up, grabbing the glass on either side.

With a grunt of effort, he lifts the heavy plexiglass, lifting it high just long enough for Kyd Wykkyd to grab up the gems with a bag offered by another of the concealed figures.

As he begins lowering it from above his head, a spark of light floods the entire room, revealing them all and causing grunts of pain at the unexpected blindness.

A wave of pink sparks launches out from somewhere in the large room, slamming into the large man's elbows.

While no pain is felt, his elbows suddenly begin shaking violently under the weight.

With a grunt, his sweating hands slip from the glass.

The case comes crashing violently down atop his head, the glass shattering against his skull.

Blood pools on the museum carpet as he falls, unconscious, to the ground seconds later.

The other four quickly come together as a group, looking for where the attack had come from.

"Looks like you've lost your edge, Wykydd," a throaty, feminine voice claims.

The voice echoes along the silent air of the room, giving the group nothing to work with.

Red eyes move about the shadows, glaring in silent recognition.

"Who're you?" a man with dark mocha skin and a mechanical, cyclopic eye demands.

"Ah, I'm hurt, See-More," the voice mocks, again not giving them anything to help them locate the threat.

A hand quickly moves to the side of the visor and turns a dial, the green glass turning dark red.

The orb rolls around, looking for anything giving off a heat signature.

When he finally finds one, it slams into him, the wave of neon pink sparks making the glass explode.

Smoke and glass shards fly through the air as the man flies backwards.

Blood rolls down from beneath the shattered visor, glass imbedded deep in the unconscious thief's face.

While the three are staring at their two fallen colleagues, a lithe form moves like a ghost through the shadows, ducking and rolling between cases and tables.

The woman finally reach their backs, and launches at them like a coiled spring releasing.

By the time one of the thieves sees her moving through the darkness, she already reaches her target.

A grunt sounds in the air as a fist slams solidly into his jaw, sending him into a spin to the ground.

The figure lands with him, her knee pressing into his throat.

When the man's eyes roll backward, she rolls off, coming to the feet of the only woman in the thieves' team.

As she comes up to swing at the woman, she jumps into the air, large white wings rising from her spine and smacking the assailant away, through the table previously housing their stolen goods.

The wood shatters, driving splinters into the tough material of the assailant's jumpsuit as she smashes into the ground and rolls several times.

"What're you doing here, messing with us, Jinx? I heard you got locked away," Angel mocks, her wings fluttering to keep her above the ground.

Grunting, Jinx pushes herself to her feet, dusting the wood shards off.

"Forgot about those. Sloppy," she sighs to herself. "I don't care what you do with your free time. You two can run along… As soon as you hand over that toy around your neck. It's entirely too dangerous for you, Wykkyd."

The mute man simply glares at Jinx, a slight smirk curving his lips.

"You got the drop on us, _Lucky_. It won't happen now that we know who we're dealing with," Angel growls.

She goes into a spin in the air, swinging her wing out to try slamming it into Jinx's throat.

The air screams in resistance of the violent motion, warning Jinx of the attack before it's even begun.

With a pulse of motion, she jumps into the air and comes down atop the wing, still mid-arc.

Her weight presses down on the sensitive flesh, and Angel gives a pained scream as she's dragged from the air.

When she crashes, Jinx cartwheels atop her wing, coming down with her legs atop the downed woman's shoulders and a hand around the back of her throat.

Her expression is stony, making Kyd Wykkyd's smirk vanish in an instant.

"Magical gem. _Now_, Wykkyd. You try to teleport her from under me, I go with her, and who knows if my hand, currently wrapped around your girlfriend's throat, might end up twisting in the sudden motion?" Jinx demands.

Her tone, far more than her words, are what convinces Wykkyd that Jinx has certainly changed since quitting the H.I.V.E. Five.

Nodding, he unsnaps the chain around his neck and pushes his hand through a portal, the gem landing at Jinx's feet.

With a grim smile, Jinx grabs the gem up with her free hand and wraps the chain around her fist, making sure that he can't pull it form her.

With that done, she steps away from the downed woman and works her way in jumps back to the window she'd entered through.

She doesn't threaten the two not to follow her or attempt revenge. Her eyes alone have ensured she doesn't need to…

_Editor's Notes_:

For the record, Angel is a cartoon-exclusive character, seen only two or three times, but since Jinx in this story has nothing to do with the H.I.V.E. Five, I'm writing with the assumption that Kydd Wykkyd would simply recruit other villains in the place of the ones who quit.

This story is actually an in-progress script for a doujinshi I'm planning on drawing, once I work more on my art skills to the point of being able to draw it. I've recently found myself more interested in American comics, mostly in DC's universe, as well as the various cartoons, movies, and shows based on them, which is why this is the first fanfic I've thought of that isn't taking place in an anime or manga.

The story is set within the universe of the 2000's Teen Titans cartoon, mostly if not entirely centered on events taking place with Raven and Jinx with some occasional forays into other characters' minds, but also has a lot of elements of the DC comics universe. This is going to be quite a crossover by the end, as of the plot I currently have.

Be sure to let me know your thoughts, positive or negative!


	2. Suspicion

Suspicion

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

The Titans sit inside their command room, the heart-shaped face of the sorceress Zatanna Zatarra filling the screen before them.

A large, multi-page document made up entirely of a list rests with each of the five, the mood gloomy.

"What're all these things?" Cyborg asks, scratching his head in confusion at the list.

A lot of the items don't even seem to have an English, or entirely human, name on the papers, and the oldest Titan is finding it frustrating, to say the list, trying to guess at what they're looking at.

None of them miss the glare their Goth friend gives the list, her eyes becoming ever narrower with each page she noisily flips through.

"There's been a string of break-ins, mostly in museums and private collections," Zatanna states, waving her own copy of the list around.

Nightwing opens his mouth to voice his thoughts on that, and with a smirk, the sorceress raises her hand, cutting him off.

"Normally, not really our thing, at least not as a group, I know. We were leaving it to the police, for a while now. Things have changed."

"_A while_," Raven repeats, staring emotionlessly at the sorceress with an upraised eyebrow. "Really?"

A slight blush feathers across her cheeks, and Zatanna forces a cough to cover her embarrassment.

"Once we saw a pattern, and started paying attention, we found that the first in these thefts was roughly two months ago."

"Okay, so it's a lot of stolen objects. Obviously," Beast Boy states, slapping the pile of papers on his knee. "Still not seeing what makes it something you'd be looking at, dude."

Zatanna notices Raven's eyes returned to the list, continuing to become more and more visibly irritated as she goes.

Noticing, Koriand'r looks at Raven with concern.

"What troubles you so, friend Raven?" she inquires, lacking subtlety as usual.

A slight wince crosses Raven's expression, so quick that nobody is sure it ever really existed at all.

"Oh, nothing, Star, just finding astonishment at how terrible this planet is at safeguarding items that are not meant for mundane, human eyes," Raven muses.

"Whaddya mean, Rae?" Beast Boy inquires, failing to notice the darkening blush on Zatanna's cheeks.

"Oh, I think that the one on monitor duty for the Justice League should explain Justice League objectives," Raven responds, smirking at the sight of Zatanna's discomfort.

"Zee?" Nightwing asks, turning his attention back to the screen.

"Ugh… Right… Every item you see on that list is a magical artifact. A dangerous one. Most of them are supposedly ancient relics, and every one of them has some story of terrible power and or origin. The thefts are happening globally, and now, the Justice League has almost every spare member they can find hunting down leads. Hell, I'm only doing monitor duty, as Raven put it so kindly, right now because even Manhunter's out somewhere."

"Wait, so you mean someone's been amassing magical weapons for possibly over two months, and we're getting on this just _now_?" Nightwing asks incredulously.

Smirking, Raven returns her attention back to the list, flipping through yet another page.

"Hey, we're not talking amateur magicians with parlor tricks here. We've been busy dealing with tracking down rumors of the Injustice League coming back, and a lot of the museums didn't even notice the items missing until we knew to look."

"So… what? They teleport the items out and put fakes in their place?"

"No, that would make it simple," Zatanna sighs. "A lot of the people just didn't even remember there being the items we looked for in the first place, until we brought it up. There's no traces of who's doing it that we've been able to find thus far, and it's too far-spread to just be one or two people."

"Psimon?" Raven inquires with a bored tone, not looking up from the list.

"Possible, but we haven't heard of anything about the guy since the Brotherhood of Evil was thawed out," Zatanna says with a shaking head.

"So what're we lookin' at, here? This seems like any rich magician would have the motivation for it," Cyborg muses, eyes closed in concentration.

"We're hoping for the best. It's been two months, so it might be a bored collector who wants powerful items to show off at parties. But that isn't likely, and the fact that it's been going on for so long, with such a large list of stolen items, says that it's far more likely to be for something bad. _Really _bad."

Something on the list catches Raven's eye, and all of them cringe away from her as a look far harsher than just irritation colors her otherwise stoic expression.

She voices nothing, though, plans already forming in her mind on how she's going to deal with the item that caught her attention.

"A lot of these are from around New York, especially Gotham and Jump," Raven notes with a rough monotone, once more appearing utterly calm.

"Yes, they are. So we think that it would follow logically that a lot of the items are _still_ in Gotham, and Jump, and a number of other areas. Hence this call, much as I'd love for it to be a social one," Zatanna sighs.

"We'll get on it," Nightwing says, straightening in his seat.

"Well, then, I leave it in your capable hands," Zatanna says, seeming less than inclined to hang up.

"Cyborg, you and Beast Boy head out to a museum that's been hit heavily, and see if you can't find something. A blip in the video, a familiar scent, something. Star, you and Raven-"

"Actually, I think that Starfire and you should team up for this, Nightwing," Raven interrupts, the uncharacteristic interruption surprising their leader.

"Why? No offense, Star," he adds quickly.

"Simple," Raven says as she stands up, letting the list fall back to the table, its contents already memorized. "You cannot fly, but you are a detective. It makes more sense to have the two of us going in different directions, as we can surely cover more ground quickly as separate groups with flight. That, and I know of many of the items on this list, and know of places to begin looking in avenues that, if you or Star were to accompany me, would likely end up causing more work than needed."

With an acknowledging nod to Zatanna, whose mouth is agape at her bluntness, her body gets wrapped in a coating of black.

Without another word, she teleports away from the room…

"What was that about? Haven't seen Raven act like that in a long time," Cyborg muses, staring at the empty floor where their teammate had stood.

Zatanna quickly flips through her list to the page Raven had reacted to, and her eyes travel down the list.

The League had organized the items by language of name origin, followed by country or planet of origin, before the details on where they'd been held and what their potential powers were.

It was a thorough list, and it made finding the item that had set Raven off very easy.

Only one item on the list had the word Zandia in it, and seeing the country's name, Zatanna gave a curse.

"You guys should keep an eye on your friend," she warns, glaring at the item listed.

"Huh? Whyzzat?" Beast Boy asks with a frown.

"You know the deal with her whole _demon_ thing, right?"

Nightwing tenses, eyes narrowed slightly.

"We do."

"Oh, cool the stare, _Richard_, it doesn't impress me," she says, laughing at his blush.

The others repressing snickers of their own, Zatanna lifts her own list up to the monitor and points at the offending item.

"This thing, right here? The Gem of Blood. It comes from a nation in the Baltic Sea named Zandia, a relatively small island, which is overtly controlled by the Church of Blood."

"Wait. As in Brother Blood?" Cyborg asks, a slight growl forming in his throat.

"Brothers, really. The one you guys tussled with would have been the 8th in the line. They all run the Church, in a cycle of son killing father to take over the powers, the rule, and the magical shawl that supposedly came from the Last Supper."

"So he wasn't just a psycho, then," Cyborg muses. "We took him down a few years back. Why's the gem got anything to do with Raven?"

"The Church of Blood is a cult. One which, around twenty-two years ago, played around with a being calling itself Skaath."

The Titans collectively pale at that, Nightwing's eyes going wide as the connection forms.

"Figured that'd make it click for you guys," Zatanna sighs. "Long story short, the gem's bad news, and either Raven's looking to settle a score or make some deal, and either way it's bad news."

Nightwing sighs, running his hand erratically through his thick black hair.

"Maybe it'd be a good idea to get some help on this. Maybe a mystic with a bit more experience than Raven?"

Cyborg glares at the leader, but his rant is forestalled by a raised hand.

"That list is huge. If Raven's really out there going after one specific thing, ditching us so we won't get in her way, that's the kind of diversion of resources we don't need if we want to help on this. Apparently, the museums here and in Gotham are inept at realizing that the public isn't a good place to put dangerous weapons. Raven seems to know where to track down at least a few, and she was right about covering more ground."

Cyborg's mouth closes as the logic works on him, his head reluctantly nodding in agreement.

"So, think you could pop on down and give us a hand?" Nightwing asks, turning back to the monitor.

"If for no other reason than keeping on eye on her, you guys might need me. Y'know, objectiveness and all that jazz," Zatanna says with a shrug.

The monitor screen flashes with light, and as it clears, Zatanna is no longer standing in front of the monitor…

_Editor's Notes_:

I'm going to say right now that I actually do like Zatanna as a character. That said, she also can be rather sanctimonious, and you can bet that her interactions with Raven will deal with their first meeting.

That said, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Either way, let me know, whether your opinion thus far is positive or negative. See you next time!


	3. Hunting

Hunting

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven lands silently on the ground of a shadowed alleyway, irritation showing through her usual mask of stoicism.

"_A gem belonging to a cult based around blood rituals, and they just let it sit behind a thin sheet of _glass_! Unbelievable_," she growls mentally, stomping unseen out of the alley.

The moment she'd seen the item on the list, she knew it was her priority. If they were so careless as to let items that dangerous just sit around, then she was going to choose which ones got priority from her for retrieval.

She'd heard rumors of it, of course, but had just assumed that if something like it existed, then it would either be in a vault somewhere or with the Church of Blood yet.

"_After all, who would be stupid enough to let a gemstone connected to a cult known for blood rituals, and my _father_ for Azar's sakes,_ _go utterly unprotected? Well, apparently this planet_," she retorts to herself, keeping her senses open as she mentally debates the stupidity of it all.

She had thought that with the likes of Doctor Fate in the Justice League, items like that would be kept in an inter-dimensional pit where none could reach them. The sheer volume of dangerous items listed as stolen, however, had quickly changed her opinion on Earth's skill with treating dangerous weapons.

The gem itself wasn't outwardly dangerous. Just a piece of Zandian rock, cut and refined, which had the innate ability to increase the powers and abilities inherent in whoever wears it.

The fact that the Church, and Trigon, were connected to the gem meant that it was undoubtedly more dangerous.

She had seen rumor, in some of her readings in the past, that the gem was the very magical battery used to supply the portal needed for Trigon's initial entry to Earth, partial though it may have been.

"_If a mystic of real skill, with any level of true power, got their hands on that thing, it could be a potential weapon of mass destruction. And they just sit it in a _museum_!" _she shouts mentally, turning down another alleyway.

Letting her senses expand, she forces her mind away from its ire, looking for her target.

The auras in the buildings around her fill her mind, the taste of their mundane emotions leaving her irritated.

Then, she catches what she was looking for, the specific taste she remembered from their last bout with Brother Blood VII. The Church left a very distinctive reek on the soul of humans, which, while unpleasant to find, made finding it very easy when you know to look.

That she had a partial roster of its members, and a general area of their residences, didn't hurt her odds, certainly.

Raven slowly lifts off the ground, flipping her hood over to cover her face as she rises.

By the time she reaches the exterior of the floor she needs, she feels the inky darkness of her soul-self wrapping soothingly around her, cloaking her in living night.

In the apartment of one Alexander Cruiz, the perfectly smooth white wall becomes alive, the man jumping in terror as a black spiral opens in the plaster.

Before he can even rise from his chair, a large hand made of the same black energy shoots out, slamming him bodily against the wall and pinning his squirming form there.

Other than the hard impact, though, no pain follows, the hand simply holding him up instead of crushing him as the long-time Jump resident had expected.

Raven materializes out of her portal, the black glow leading to her upraised arm.

"What do you know about gems, Alexander?" she asks, her voice seeming to echo off the walls.

"Ain't you one a' them Teen Titans?" he asks.

"We dropped the "Teen" a few years back. Now answer my question. Brother Blood's gem. It was stolen from a museum here. Sebastian's predecessor wouldn't have let that information go unnoticed, so I'm sure your newest _leader_ hasn't, either. Who has the gem, Alexander?" Raven demands, taking guilty pleasure in watching the man pale and begin sweating before her presence.

"I ain't tellin' you nothin', bitch," he growls, ignoring the hand still wrapped around him.

In an instant, the room is coated with Raven's energy, and he drops to the floor in terror as he's released.

Raven's hood lifts on an unseen wind, and he stares slack-jawed at her illusion, red skin and four hellish, slanted eyes making his heart skip a beat.

"_Thank Azar these fools don't know my tricks,_" Raven muses, strengthening the illusion against her prey.

"_**The Gem of Blood**_," Raven demands, her voice echoing within Alexander's head. "_**Who has it**_**?"**

"I… I don't know! I-It's n-not like I'm-m h-high up in the Ch-Church, or anythin'," he stutters, shaking before her demonic illusion.

"_**Sebastian, if he's anything like his father, will have you fanatics on the look-out for what's **_his_**, so don't bother lying,**_" Raven snarls. "_**Who does he have you people on the lookout for?**_"

"The H.I.V.E. Five! He said that that Kyd Wykkyd guy would've made sense to be able ta' grab the rock without detection. Please don't eat me!"

Remembering the alarm that had been set off in a museum earlier that evening, Raven grins. To the cultist, however, her amused smirk is horrifyingly sinister, his mind made up that he's going to die today.

Noticing his hand clawing at his overworked heart, Raven places her hand on his forehead, a burst of power knocking him unconscious.

Casting her gaze around the room, she rights his knocked over chair and lifts him with soul-self. Brushing off the dirt from his floor, she places him back on the chair, leaving not a shred of evidence of her entry and attack.

Considering Nightwing's former mentor routinely dropped people head-first off tall buildings, Nightwing should understand the effectiveness of interrogation. Ideologically, however, he was still the same idealist boy he'd been when he first left Gotham.

Having cultists suing the Titans over intimidation tactics was a hassle she did not need.

Opening another portal, she vanishes from the apartment, coming out on the ruined carpet of a museum.

Her first thought is that the H.I.V.E. Five seems to have had a rather large disagreement, if the large splatters of blood and scattered wood, feathers, and glass everywhere were any indication.

Whoever had fought, Kyd Wykkyd's signature left in the acrid, burning sensation caused by one of his portals, the rest going with it.

"_And yet the gem is not with them_," Raven ponders, moving closer to the trail the gem's dark, angry signature left.

Shrugging, she flies through an open window and begins following the path of the gem…

With a loud _pop_, Zatanna materializes in the Titans' living room.

"Ta-daa," she intones, giving them a performer's bow, her tophat floating where her head had been.

The Titans stare at her, all clapping appreciatively at the entrance.

"You've improved, Zee," Nightwing muses, smiling. "I remember when you used to pop in with only half your clothes joining you for the journey."

Zatanna rises from her bow, a strong blush on her face. A cruel smile curves her lips, and she saunters over to the former Boy Wonder, throwing her arm around his shoulder.

"That's right, I have improved. And boy, how I remember so fondly when you were just so little and _cute_, Dick," she intones, pinching his cheek harshly.

"Ow, ow! Point taken, I give," Nightwing says, swatting her hand away.

Laughing, Zatanna pats the top of his head, moving over to take a seat at the table the Titans are around.

"So you guys go way back, huh?" Beast Boy asks, missing the somewhat jealous fire in Koriand'r's eyes.

"Yep," Zatanna chirped, smirking at Nightwing's growing blush. "I remember when he was just a little kid. He was so _cute_, the way he pined after everything with breasts."

Nightwing's blush turns dark red, and he opens his mouth to yell at the sorceress.

"But I'll be sure to fill you guys in on all the embarrassing stories of Dick's youth later. For now, we have business to attend to!"

With a snap of her fingers, a map of Jump City materializes before her on the table.

"So, if Nightwing agrees, here is where I think everyone should start. We should deal with the most immediately dangerous and available, first," she says, beginning to point at the map.

As they all look at the map, nobody notices Cyborg's glare, his thoughts on what Zatanna's presence means evident.

She may be a good teammate, but the fact that she came to watch his friend does _not _feel right…

_Editor's Notes_:

I'll admit that I don't know the Church of Blood's roster of characters outside of a few specific ones, so I basically made the intimidated middle-man up. Also, I'm using Sebastian Blood IX for this story, under the assumption that the Brother Blood in the cartoon was the 8th. This means the cartoon's Brother Blood, as I explained in the previous chapter, is dead. Sorry to anyone who liked that iteration of the character.

On my formatting: _italics_ mean it's thoughts, _**italic bold **_means that it's a character using a doubled voice, like Raven in this scene, or screaming vigorously, and _breaks in the italics means _emphasis _in the midst of the thoughts_.

My plan is to upload a new chapter every Monday and Friday, and I'm hoping to get a lot done in advance before next semester starts for me.

All that said, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Either way, let me know, whether your opinion thus far is positive or negative. See you next time!


	4. Re-Acquaintance

Re-aquaintance

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven floats silently above the city, keeping out of sight as she follows the gem's signature.

Apparently, the Church's peon hadn't been entirely wrong. The H.I.V.E. Five had, in fact, had the gem.

And yet, even with the gem's power and Wykkyd's teleportation, someone else had taken them down in a five-on-one fight, which was no small feat.

Her mood becomes progressively more irritated as she travels through the air, pondering the scene.

There had been a sixth signature in the room, one she had definitely felt before. Even ignoring the gem's influence and bringing the barest traces of the attacker's aura that remained to her mind, though, the signature feels wrong, somehow.

Whoever she is hunting, something very drastic has changed their personality since their last encounter.

Finally, she finds the trail becoming stronger, and lowers to the ground, wanting to give whoever it is no warning if it can be helped, before it's too late for them.

When she reaches the thief, though, she falters. Her mind strains to recognize the features before her, the same feeling of familiar yet changed the only thing reaching her senses.

The woman before her is stunning to look at, brunette hair falling to her shoulders, and ending in neon pink strands of color.

She wears a tight leather jacket, a shade of grey almost black with how dark it is, which accentuates the black biker leathers wrapped around her legs.

Almost painfully contrasting this all in the darkness is the neon pink shirt beneath the jacket, as well as the pattern weaving through the jacket of the same color.

When the woman suddenly stops moving, Raven tenses.

Her head turns to the side slightly, and Raven finally recognizes her prey, the large, cat-slitted pink eyes and light grey skin giving Jinx's identity away.

"_Two years has done wonders for her physique,_" Raven muses, eyeing the muscles where there had previously been twig-thin limbs.

Jinx takes Raven's appearance in for the span of five utterly silent seconds, and then she takes off in a burst of speed.

As she rounds a building's corner, heading into an alleyway, a bright flash of scarlet betrays her current ownership of the gem, hanging from a thick metal chain around her neck.

Raven lifts off the ground and flies after her, impressed to find the feline metahuman using the close walls of the buildings making the alley as springboards, rising higher with incredible grace and speed.

"Looks like wherever you were in your absence has improved your skills," Raven notes nonchalantly, rising to the top of the buildings just as Jinx reaches them.

Jinx remains silent, her eyes flaring bright pink as the air crackles with her energy.

With a wave of her hands, a ring of her hex energy expands outwards, knocking Raven from the air.

She bounces across the building, her cloak mostly preventing any of the otherwise assuredly horrible brush burn and cuts.

Rising with a grunt, Raven shakes her head to clear the spots dancing in front of her vision. Bad luck and internal organs was not a good combination, even for someone with her robust physiology.

"What, no banter? You were always so talkative before," Raven mocks, tasting the woman's restrained emotions on the air.

The gem hanging from her neck gives a bright, red shimmer around Jinx's body, and the glow to her eyes seems to turn redder and darker.

A bolt of hex energy shoots from the meta's index finger, smoke rising in the air as it launches towards Raven.

In response, her own black energy creates a glow of its own, her eyes sparking with obsidian flames.

"Azarath, Metrion, _Zinthos_," she intones, hand flung outward.

From her arm shoots a black claw, rising in an uppercut into the incoming bolt.

With an explosion of red, the bolt detonates under the assault, red smoke quickly vanishing in the dark night air.

Before Jinx can attack again, Raven presses forward with her soul-self, grasping her in a psychic deathgrip.

Jinx grunts as she's slammed into the rooftop, the concrete cracking beneath the impact.

"I don't know why you're here, after your absence, or why you attacked their team. Frankly, I just don't care, Jinx. What I care about is that gem sitting around your throat, trying to burn through my hold on you. You can shut the power supplying off and give it to me, or I can knock you unconscious and retrieve it from you then. Your choice, but make it wisely and quickly, as my patience tonight is limited."

In response, Jinx's eyes flare brilliantly with pink light, and the soul-self containing her explodes.

The meta quickly presses her hands on the roof next to her head and pushes, rolling backwards and onto her feet.

As soon as her feet meet the ground, she presses off and cartwheels backwards, narrowly escaping another grabbing, black fist.

"Raven, wait," she says, hands raised in a way similar to talking down a cagey animal.

"I already told you my patience is limited tonight, Jinx. Your banter should've come earlier," Raven states, sending another grabbing hand at her.

Jinx jumps high into the air, sending two arcs of her energy out and at Raven.

As she brings her hands up to deflect the attacks, Jinx comes down on top of her, both of them slamming onto the roof with twin grunts.

As she prepares to lash out, Jinx grabs onto her wrists, pinning them to the rough surface while pushing her knee into the upper section of her stomach.

Raven gasps, effectively stalled by the efforts, and Jinx stares intently into her eyes.

"Raven, calm down. No need to waste effort fighting. Aren't you supposed to be all about talking and peaceful and simple resolutions?"

Raven goes still beneath her, glaring up.

She finds her mind being torn as she considers the situation while once more tasting the air for Jinx's emotions.

"_She's right, actually. Need to calm down. She probably doesn't even know what she's wearing. And she's afraid, but not of me… or is that just nervousness? Hmm..._"

Raven gives a deep sigh, her hands going limp under Jinx's grip.

"So talk, then, Jinx. Preferably without you sitting on top of me," she adds, a blush forming at the sensation in her stomach, completely unrelated to the meta's knee.

Nodding, Jinx rises to her feet, seeming to have both the caution to know not to trust Raven at her word and the confidence that she can react if she is lying.

"_Different, indeed_."

"You can't say anything about me being here. At all," Jinx states, casting her gaze about as if expecting something to leap from the shadows.

"_Ah, that's it. She wishes to be hidden… I really must look into what Jinx has been up to in her absence," _Raven muses as she, too, rises slowly to her feet.

"As stated, I don't really care what you're doing here, Jinx. I just want the gem. Either you don't have a clue what it is that you're wearing, and if that's the case, you're putting yourself and others at risk. And if you _do_ know, then you stole it from the thieves with clear intent, and I need to remove it from you before you hurt people," Raven states while dusting herself off.

"I found them while on a job. I kept it, because Kyd Wykkyd was going to get himself killed using it without knowing anything about it. The thing's dangerous, and I get that. So, I decided to safeguard it."

Raven's eyes narrow and she moves silently across the roof, no sound coming from her steps.

With a start, Jinx realizes she's floating and that her cloak has grown to cover her feet, and a shiver runs through her. Clothes weren't supposed to do that, in her experience, and it was really creepy.

"You'll _safeguard _it?" Raven inquires, a slight smirk curving her lips. "Jinx, that gem's worse in your hands than his. Your power's bad luck itself, if I remember correctly, yes?"

"I… I've worked on that. Look, you're not going to kill me and I'm too hungry to shoot you again and proceed to run. Do you think we could possibly just talk this out, down where I don't have to worry about tripping and breaking my neck while you keep edging me off the roof?"

Raven's eyebrow rises at that, realizing with a start that she has, in fact, been walking the metahuman closer and closer to the edge of the roof.

"Sorry, the gem has put me in a rather fowl mood," Raven apologizes, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. "Where do you propose we talk about this? I recall you not wanting to be seen."

Jinx points down to a small structure on the opposite side of the street, apparently a small cafe of some variety.

Even from atop the roof, Raven notices that nobody else is inside.

"That's where I was going in the first place. I burned a lot of calories fighting those guys, and that's a relatively new cafe. Opened a little over six months ago, by a man new to the state. No reason he'll have any idea who I am, or possibly you are, and apparently some incredible food. And if we're in there, in a neutral zone, I'll be too busy eating to try anything, and I will no longer be too hungry to explain everything to your satisfaction," Jinx offers.

"Or I could simply pin you and snap the chain off, and then we could both be on our way," Raven retorts with a slight smirk.

"Much as I'd love to go for a roll on the ground with you, that doesn't strike me as your style. You seem like the curious type."

With a slight giggle, Jinx plants her hand on the edge of the roof and flips downward, returning to the ground the same way she'd risen.

With a stronger blush, Raven floats to the ground after her, finding her already across the street and on the way to the cafe.

"_Perhaps she isn't as far off-base as I would like on her assumptions_," Raven muses, following after the meta with an audible sigh...

_Editor's Notes_:

In the cartoon, Jinx's power is probability manipulation, like Marvel's early Scarlet Witch. In the comics, she's an Indian sorceress. I'm going to be trying to bridge the two logically in the coming story.

Hope you're enjoying, thus far. If you are, let me know. And if you aren't, let me know why, so I can improve myself. See you next time.


	5. Raw Deal (Part I)

Raw Deal (Part I)

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Jinx stares intently at the menu, seeming to be making some kind of important decision.

With a nod, she takes the notepad on the table and begins writing her order, Raven's eyebrow arcing at the amount of time it takes.

Wordlessly, Jinx puts her menu down and hands the notepad over.

"Well, you apparently weren't kidding about the calories. I suppose a five-on-one fight _would_ take a lot of energy," Raven remarks, looking over the lengthy order.

With a hum of thought, Raven quickly scrawls her own order down and, making sure the cooks in the back aren't looking, sends the paper floating over with her soul-self.

"Actually, it was really only a two-on-one. I took Private H.I.V.E. and See-More out before they even knew I was there, and Billy didn't even divide before he was unconscious. Angel's the only one who even managed to hit me," Jinx muses, sounding more than a little proud of herself.

"And yes, it burned a lot of energy," she continues. "It didn't take much effort, mind you, but my metabolism is like a crackhead's when I use my magic."

"Interesting. Now, as to the reason we're here and I'm not at home, meditating…?" Raven ponders, eye twitching slightly in irritation.

"Hey, you complained that I was always talkative. Wouldn't dream of disappointing," Jinx says with a grin.

Raven begins to retort when the meta raises her index finger in interruption.

"I will answer any questions you have for me… within the realm of what is safe for me to do so and I'm able. In return, Raven, you're going to promise not to attack or attempt to arrest me, or otherwise cause me trouble, until I have finished and you've at least heard me out first. Deal?"

Raven ponders this for a short eternity. On the one hand, the gem was dangerous, and having it out in the open could attract all manners of dangerous attentions at any moment.

"_On the other hand, it's been stolen for at least a week, and nobody tried to kill Wykkyd to get it in that time_," she muses.

With a sigh, Raven mentally curses her curiosity, her irritation over dealing with Zatanna and finding her faith in Earth misplaced having apparently made her more indulging to her emotions than usual.

"That seems… agreeable," she finally states, glaring at Jinx's relieved sigh, a smile creeping across her lips.

The glare quickly vanishes, though, when painful memories surface in the meta's gaze, her emotions already taking on an unpleasant quality.

"I guess I should start with what's been going on for my two years of being off the radar," Jinx states with a sigh.

"That seems like a good place to start, if you feel you need to work your way to your point," Raven agrees.

Jinx loses her grin, glaring at the empath.

"When I had broken up with Kid Flash, it was for personal reasons. I didn't have anything against the Titans, and I found that I liked what I did while helping you guys. So, I decided to strike out on my own as a hero," Jinx begins. "I mean, helping the innocent, saving lives, it felt… good. _Really _good. Like I could work off the shit that Brother Blood had us doing while he ran the H.I.V.E., y'know?"

At the mention of the cultist, the gem seems to glow slightly, and with a grimace, Jinx tucks it back beneath her shirt, the pink color hiding the glow sufficiently.

"But, as I'm sure you know, bad luck and helping people don't exactly go together. I saved some people, sure, but I usually ended up accidentally doing way more harm than help, and not just to the people I was intending to help."

"I can only imagine," Raven muses. "Internal organs would not deal with with accelerated decay, if you were not in complete control when attacking directly. Evidently you've gained said control," she adds with a slight smile, pointing at her chest.

"You have no idea how right you are, Raven," the meta sighs, playing with a pink strand of hair.

"One time, this was about a month into soloing it, I found this man being beaten. I mean, really beaten. The guy was using a freaking _crow bar_, and he was just pounding on the guy like he was practicing for a baseball game. I attacked him from behind, planning on causing his arm to break or somethin'… But he must've seen my shadow, or heard me, or something, because he turned around."

Raven pales, already suspecting how the story is going to end.

"He still had his arm up, ready to swing, and he was left-handed. My hex bolt hit him, right in the chest. His heart instantly seized, and less than an hour later, the police had me in their meta containment cuffs, on my way to prison for murder."

"Surely they saw it as defense on behalf of someone unable to defend themselves," Raven states drily.

"They would've. If I wasn't a known thief and a metahuman. Between the lack of help from the no longer functioning H.I.V.E., and the bevy of crimes no longer classified and hidden because of it, I was already in a bad place with them. My lawyer was absolute shit, since nobody of skill would touch an ex-H.I.V.E. student, and the few who would were so crooked I didn't want to touch them with a ten foot pole. All that, though, would've been fine. I mean, I was still known to have worked with the Titans, and they didn't know I'd quit."

"I'm guessing that didn't help matters, though."

"Not a bit. The judge was a pious asshole. One of those 'metas are abominations' types, with a real stick up his ass. How he runs a court, I'll never know. Probably had something to do with the Senator, the father of the attacker I'd killed, giving him instruction on how to _handle _me."

"Oh, Jinx. You could've called us. Kid Flash would possibly have been an issue for you, but we would have helped. Cy and Nightwing both have contacts that could've helped," Raven says, a slightly sympathetic sound to her tone.

"I thought about it. I figured that Cyborg would've helped. We weren't exactly friends, but he knew me well enough from infiltrating the H.I.V.E. that murder wasn't my thing. But that phone call you're supposed to get? It never showed up, and I went ignored when I asked for it."

Raven winces at the bitterness in the woman's tone, an entirely understandable feeling.

"Before I knew it, I was put in Belle Reve with a sentence of above 200 years, once they started bringing all the crimes they could pin on me up. That place… it's built to house villains and metahumans, y'know? The judge and police didn't know I wasn't one of them anymore, but the inmates sure as hell did, and they made it very clear I wasn't welcome."

Closing her eyes, Jinx pulls in a deep breath, seeming to center herself.

"So I was in maximum security, I had a collar that stunted my powers, and I was in a lions' den waiting for me to sleep so they could shank me. I learned how to defend myself, fast."

"I would imagine so. At least you aren't the stick you used to be, I suppose," Raven offers tokenly.

"Yeah, I guess keeping a step ahead of people wanting to kill me as a traitor to prove a point certainly had to give me _something_ out of it," Jinx sighs...

_Author's Notes_:

As can probably be guessed, Jinx has gone through some heavy stuff. I'm finding it interesting writing her from the perspective of what would happen when she liked the Titans but removed herself from the person who connected her to the rest of them.

As always, hope you're enjoying yourself, and all praise and criticisms are equally welcome! See you next time!


	6. Raw Deal (Part II)

Raw Deal (Part II)

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Before Raven can comment, a large array of plates arrive at their table. The waiter leaves them without comment, apparently deciding the two look entirely too serious to allow for small conversation.

"So, something happened, obviously," Raven states while emptying several packets of sugar into her teacup. "I mean, you're here, outside of Bell Reve, and you're alive."

Jinx takes a bite out of the steak she ordered, eyes closing as a satisfied hum sounds in the back of her throat.

"The rumors were true, this steak is awesome. And yeah, somebody saved my ass. Harley Quinn, if you'd believe it."

"Really? I don't picture her as the type to take someone under her wing," Raven muses, frowning in thought.

"I thought so, too. So, first day I'm in, and we get sent out for rec time, right? I decide, because I'm an idiot, that it might be better for me if I just stick to a corner of the yard. I mean, I can see all directions for trouble coming, and with my acrobatics, I can use the corner as a good point to start getting away if shit hits the fan, right? Made sense, at the time. Until a whole gang of 'em shows up, and I can't get away in any direction."

She takes another bite, seeming to stall while she collects her thoughts.

"Did you know that rec time there isn't separated like the rest of the prison?"

"They put all the prisoners together?" Raven inquires in her monotone, inwardly horrified at the prospect.

"Yep. Boy, did I learn that fast. So, a lot of these inmates are boxing me in, and I can practically see the writing on the walls. I wasn't exactly all muscle, and the best I could hope for would be to run on their heads until one of them got their hands on me, and then I'd be dead. So, I'm watching them, that's Killer Frost, some old H.I.V.E. students, and some guys I didn't recognized, come at me, right? Then this really loud, bubbly voice sounds, and all of them jump like the damn Devil itself had shown up."

"Harley commands that much respect?"

"You know how she got in, right? She wrecked the Joker, and that kind of thing isn't something people want to mess with. So, this bubbly blonde comes walking right past them, and throws her arm around my neck, acting like we're old friends. She gives them this _look_, and they all just back down, turn tail, and run for it. So, she says to me that she remembered her first stint, and that I should learn to fight, quick, because the guards don't do shit in the yard unless a riot breaks out."

Raven takes note of this, making plans to anonymously send some inspections the prison's way. Hearing rumors and hearing it straight from a former inmate were two separate things, and she didn't like the feel of it all.

"So, Harley saved you. I suppose she's the one who taught you to fight?"

Jinx grins at that, pointing her steak-knife in Raven's vague direction.

"Always thought you were a quick one. Harley taught me how to fight, and I mean down-on-the-floor, dirty, no bullshit fighting. Guess she had to learn, if she wanted to keep up with the Joker constantly messing with everyone. Turns out that someone had put me in as her cellmate, which would make sense later but not so much at the time. Luckily, I'm a fast learner. Just fast enough, as it turns out. Did you guys ever hear about the riot, 'bout a year and a half ago?"

"We'd heard. Evidently Batman showed up, and a lot of the inmates decided to shut their cell doors behind themselves as soon as he did," Raven muses with a slight smile.

"Yeah, that ain't a rumor. Well, the riot broke out when I was out in the yard, few months into my stay. Still don't know how the hell they pulled it off, but some of the inmates managed to disable their collars, and powers started getting hurled around to various random and explosive results. Of course, I was not lucky enough to be among the ones that cut out, so I was stuck with just what Harley taught me and my acrobatics. Those ex-H.I.V.E. students I mentioned a minute ago? They noticed."

A hard glint forms in Jinx's eye, and Raven finds herself wondering if the gem's worth putting the girl through the memories causing her suffering.

Before she can make a decision on it, though, the meta continues.

"So, three of them come at me, throwing their powers around as if I've never seen anything like it before. I'd like to say I kicked their asses without a scratch with my new ninja moves, but I'd be lying, at least partially."

Jinx pauses at Raven's audible snicker, staring at her as the psychic simply raises her eyebrow, as if daring her to make mention of her sense of humor.

"_Ninja moves_? I believe that kickboxing would be more Quinn's style."

"Hmm… That's true enough… Mostly, they just didn't have the control of their powers they needed to deal with my new skills after months being without them. It probably saved my life, and just as the riot's being shut down, I just finished up slamming one of their heads into the concrete. When the other two came at me, I was in fight or flight mode, and the guards got to us when I trip them off by kicking their unconscious friend into a roll at them. They both came down and slammed their heads, and all three of them came out of it with serious concussions and the vague idea that I was the reason for it, so rumors started spreading within the week."

"Am I correct in assuming that things didn't get easier afterwards?"

Jinx suddenly digs into her steak, taking several large mouthfuls as her face contorts in thought.

"_Perhaps we're getting to the _bad_ part, then,"_ Raven muses with no small amount of worry.

"Yes and no," Jinx finally says, a grimace on her face. "By the end of the week, I get called up to Waller's office. I'm thinking I'm going to get in deep shit for almost killing three guys, maybe even put in isolation. Glad to say that I was surprised."

Raven simply sips her tea, not pressuring the woman to continue unduly.

"So, I go in, and first thing out of Waller's mouth is that she _knows_. She makes it clear that she knows I shouldn't be in Belle Reve, or any prison, for that matter. I'm reeling, thinking that I'm either getting tricked or I'm going to be worked for some kind of deal, maybe some info on my former teammates, or something. But she didn't ask for any of that. Instead, she tells me that I can continue on suffering abuse, and I will eventually die when I'm alone, which I'd been lucky to avoid to that point. Said it would be a _pointless waste of talent_. Or she has an offer for me. I can do… odd jobs for her, and work my sentence off fast with them."

Raven's eyes widen, information coming to the fore of her brain. Jinx's reluctance suddenly makes complete sense, if her suspicions are correct, which they seem to be.

Raven quickly casts her gaze around the cafe, finding no attention, psychic or mundane, focused on them outside of the curiosity over what two young women can be so seriously discussing.

"You're part of Waller's private little black ops, aren't you, Jinx?"

Jinx's head shoots up, eyes wide and terror making a heady scent in the air.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Suicide Squad," Raven interrupts, wincing at the impact Jinx's sudden fear hitting her senses.

Jinx ducks her head low, her eyes in narrow slits focused on the psychic.

"How the fuck do you know that name?" she demands, voice low and entire body tensed in preparation for a fight.

"They aren't as secret as they should be. Frankly, while I get the point of it, Waller's idea of expendable mercenaries doesn't really make for much of a contingency plan or safeguards for privacy, if you know where to look," Raven remarks, raising her hands placatingly. "You need to calm down, Jinx."

"Fucking- ugh. Why would you have _any_ reason to know where to look in the first place?" Jinx demands, directing her ire at the first question raised in her mind.

"There was an operation done in Zandia, a small Baltic island run by a cult. I make it my business to keep tabs on everything related to that place, and so it was matter of course to discover you guys."

"Who else knows?"

"Jinx, just calm down," Raven sighs. "Nightwing might be the detective, but I've picked up quite a few tricks from observing him and talking to Cyborg over the years. Only I had any reason to know about it all."

Jinx nods, seeming to accept this logic even as panic continues burning through her.

"Raven, you have to swear that you will _never _mention that name, ever again. Especially while in any connection to me. Because if someone hears you, Waller made it very clear on my exit that I _will _be killed, and so will anyone who learns about it."

Suddenly, Jinx's emotions make total sense, and Raven's gaze softens as she stares at the scared woman, even if she still hadn't told her what she was doing with the gem.

"I swear that I won't tell anyone else, ever," she says, the air vibrating as the magical oath takes place.

Jinx shivers, apparently noticing the geas taking form.

"You just-"

"A geas. If I break the promise, I may die, and if I don't, it will still be of terrible consequence," Raven tells her, the slight glow fading from her eyes.

"Thank you," Jinx says, her body shaking in the wake of the vanishing terror in her system, adrenaline slowly working its way out.

"So, I've yet to hear why you currently have that gem around your neck. Though I suppose at least now, I know you didn't willingly cut all ties with us and disappear, so that's something," Raven states with a slight smile.

"I was getting to that before you so kindly gave me a damn heart attack," Jinx states, a large smile of her own forming before she continues...

_Author's Notes_:

For the record, the Suicide Squad in the story is the New 52's iteration, with Harley Quinn and Deadshot. Mostly because I like how Harley's character is being handled with it, though I do recognize quite a few issues with the writing.

A geas comes from older mythology, and over time has become a magically binding oath. Think of it like swearing on the River Styx in Greek mythology.

Not sure if I'm mixing Raven's personality from the many different iterations of her too much, here. Either way, let me know what you think, good or bad. See you next time!

P.S. 8/27/13-

You'll notice that if I have dates in the a/n's marking certain things, they may be a tad disjointed. I finished the entire first part of this story yesterday, so you all get a bonus chapter this week to celebrate. I'm currently getting started on the second part, though really, you all won't be seeing this for a while since the second part starts at chapter 25.


	7. Raw Deal (Part III)

Raw Deal (Part III)

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

"So, anyway, Waller makes this offer. While I'm not the most perceptive, I'm still smart enough to figure out there are only so many ways you can use a group of supervillain inmates in the kind of deal that gets them out early."

With a sigh, Jinx takes the last bite, finishing off her steak, before sliding another plate of food over on top of the plate.

"So, she can tell I'm not exactly happy about the prospect. I mean, she as much as said she knew I wasn't a murderer, and here she was asking me to at the very least work with some serious hitters who didn't have any issues with it."

"So what changed your mind?" Raven inquires, placing the now empty teacup on the table and pouring another glass from the large glass container left with them.

"Who, not what," Jinx disagrees. "It was Harley. Waller told me that while I'd be running the risk of dying, obviously, probably for the government, I could also get out of prison, not just in my life time but in a few years. Depending on what I was sent to deal with. So, I'm sitting in this huge office, basically being told I can get out of being stuck there wrongly, if I put my neck on the line, and I can't for the life of me figure out what the hell I'm going to do. Then Harley showed up."

"She just walked into Amanda Waller's office?" Raven inquires, starting to get the larger picture.

"More like runs in like a kid on crack, but yeah, pretty much," Jinx says with a shrug. "Apparently, when I'd gotten sent to Belle Reve, Waller had found my ability… _useful_. For heroics, bad luck doesn't do much good, but for secret spy missions without any possibility of an international incident, where the target always needs to die? Yeah, that I could do, or so she thought. So she put me in Harley's cell, and had her run her psychoanalysis crap on me. Y'know, would I be able to handle the battle stress, would I be able to cope with killing willfully, would my mind be able to take the stress of my powers, that kinda' thing. Apparently I passed, and Harley liked me enough, so Waller decided to test me out."

"I wish someone had thought to look for you," Raven sighs. "When you vanished, a lot of people just assumed you went underground, and that you weren't going to be found if you didn't want to. If we had known-"

"I know," Jinx interrupts, her smile becoming a little warmer. "You're not quite the stoic, cold fish everyone seems to say you are, Raven."

"Thank you, I guess," Raven says, blushing at the meta's quiet giggle.

"So, I decide that if I'm ever going to get out of that hole, this was my chance. I wasn't exactly spy material, but very few have ever made it out of there via escape, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be one of them. So I took her up on her offer."

Remembered horrors quickly flash through Jinx's eyes, her grin souring in their wake.

"I got lucky, though. In more ways than one. I was out on several missions, and between Harley and Deadshot, I managed to keep my ass from being fried. Was even useful some times. That op you mentioned? That was the one that really saved my ass."

"I apparently did not do as much research as I thought. All I could get beyond the existence of your team was something vaguely resembling Deadshot's MO. Nothing that would've led me to believe Quinn or you were there," Raven muses.

"Kinda' the point. Anyway, we're in that hellhole, and while we're looking for the target, these cultists pinned everyone else. Deadshot's suit got messed up by their magic, and Harley was stuck in some kind of illusion. She never talked about it. The others… well, they weren't particularly helpful."

"And where were you?"

"Flanking their asses, albeit unintentionally. Part of the whole probability thing; I got separated from them, and came out on the other side of the forest when the explosions started. So, using some tricks that I picked up on other missions, I, uh… I sort've made the Earth eat them."

"A new trick, indeed."

"My hex energy's magical. It was only natural I'd figure out other magic eventually," Jinx shrugs off. "So, the cultists are all crushed, without any sign of them existing when the hole I opened closes after them. We get back to Belle Reve, thinking I royally screwed up, when Waller tells me that I'm going to be released."

"Just like that? When you were so useful to her team? I didn't picture the good warden to be so fair."

"I still have a death threat on my head, y'know. And I worked my ass off, and saved her team. But I think that Harley had mentioned something about when we'd talked, privately, about me finding that, after the first few ops, I found myself liking it. Not the killing, mind you, but the secrecy, the intrigue, and the being useful to people by preventing seriously bad shit from happening, with shocking ease."

"They don't… have you bugged or anything, do they?" Raven inquires, suddenly very worried.

"I… don't think so. You brought the name up first, so if anything, you would probably be the target, right along with me, and I'm sure you could kick their asses if they tried it, so my worry before was a tad unwarranted."

"Glad you think so highly of me, when you just said you made the Earth swallow a whole group while a trained killer was incapable," Raven monotones, the blush seeming to be perpetually with her now.

"You should hear the stories Dr. Light tells in there," Jinx giggles. "I don't know what you did to him, but he has everyone in that place that ever went against the Titans terrified of the dark."

"He caught me on a bad day," the psychic deadpans, sipping more tea to avoid revealing her own grin.

Apparently, her initial impression that Jinx was more tolerable than most during her brief time with them had not been an unwarranted one.

"Apparently. So, anyway, my record got completely expunged, and I'm let out with a lot more combat skills than I went in with, developing powers, and a sudden passion for saving people in a way that I can do. Have you ever heard of the D.E.O.?"

"Of course. Wonder Woman has dealings with them, which means the Justice League has records on them, which in turn means that Nightwing, nosy detective that he is, has said files."

"You _are_ well informed, aren't you? Well, if you know about her, you know about the D.M.A. division inside of the department, yes?"

Raven nods, sipping her tea and waiting for Jinx to elaborate herself. Evidently, she'd been making good use of her freedom, even if her bosses were all, if Nightwing's data was anything to go by, utterly insane.

"Well, surprisingly, Waller gave me a recommendation when I got out. Of course, they never said who recommended me when I was blindfolded and driven to a spooky, undisclosed location for an interview, but nobody else I know had any kind of way to do something like that. Well, it might've been Mikron," she amends, seemingly to herself as a sudden thought occurs to her.

"Mikron?"

"Uh… Gizmo. He quit the whole villain game as soon as he got de-iced by whoever thawed out the Brotherhood of Evil. We're a team. He does the information, I hit whatever needs to be broken or removed to get the goal done."

"Ah, that'd explain why he hasn't had a presence in our radars, either, then. Don't suppose he knows who freed them?"

"If he does, he hasn't told me," the meta responds with a shaking head. "I bet that _really _didn't go over well with you guys."

"Mostly Beast Boy. Nightwing is too busy with… other… concerns, and I admit, I find it difficult to take a talking brain in a jar seriously, despite what horrors he planned before. So what of your other former teammate, Mammoth?"

"He agreed wholly with Giz when he said they _'didn't need to deal with no damn stinkin' brain gettin' them frozen for more'n half a year,'_ or so Mammoth told me," Jinx says, affecting a much more nasally voice. "He joined up with his sister Shimmer. Whatever they do, it's heavier than whatever we've got going on."

"So, you work for the D.M.A. now. Not to knock you, but I can see that being more your kind of thing than working with needing to play nice."

"Envious?" Jinx asks, affecting an almost flirtatious tone that darkens Raven's blush ever further.

"Truth be told? At least a small amount," Raven states, smirking at Jinx's scandalized gasp.

"Imagine that! Well, I'm not a recruitment officer or anythin', but I could always put a good word in for you with Steel, if you want. We could use the kind of power you throw around, even if Gizmo would pitch a fit."

"I'll think on it," Raven states, surprising both of them with her sincerity. "For now, though, we still have the bit about why you have the gem to go over."

"Oh. Right. So, a month ago, one of our data guys notices all these magical items getting pilfered. Me and Giz get sent out to hunt for them, working quietly to help the Justice League, and various other groups, to retrieve them. Only took us about a week to notice there were no other groups, and we had Giz send a little blip of data, to bring it to their attentions."

"It still amazes me, with their ineptitude on this one," Raven comments drily.

"You, too? Seriously, what the hell's with that? So, anyway, long story short a few items get back to the museums that will just end up being robbed again, and now here I am, with the gem of a cult stolen back from the original thieves. Can't believe that Wykkyd had the damn thing and didn't even seem to know what it really was, other than that it gave him a boost."

"And so, here you are," Raven agrees, her stoic mask becoming harder to keep up by the second...

_Author's Notes_:

D.E.O.- Department of Extranormal Operations (they're a group in the comics that deals with supernatural issues, working for the U.S. government, to generally protect the public from crazies with superpowers)

D.M.A.- Department of Metahuman Affairs (a subdivision of the D.E.O., not dissimilar to a Men in Black organization for dealing with metahumans)

Shimmer is a comics-only character, the sister of Mammoth and another member of the Fearsome Five, along with Gizmo, Psimon, and Jinx.

All those factoids out of the way, I hope you're enjoying so far. I feel like I'm giving more exposition than I should be, but I'm also enjoying writing it. Either way, let me know what you, the reader, thinks, so I know what I do and don't need to work on. See you next time!


	8. Intrigue

Intrigue

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Jinx silently continues on her meal as Raven lets her mind roll the new information about.

The psychic sits back, sipping her tea while her own unpleasant memories rose.

Whether she intended to or not, Jinx had managed to get into her head. Sympathy isn't an emotion that comes easily to the half-demon, but that didn't seem to stop the meta from making it rear its head.

In some ways, her own fate had been less cruel. At least she had had other avenues to look for help when the Zatarra witch had turned her pleas for help away upon her arrival.

At that, she makes a mental note to partake in some very uncharacteristic gloating at some point, that Zatanna had put the Earth in danger and the exact reason for her caution had prevented it.

The amusement lasts scant moments before her mind turns back to the woman across from her, gaze occasionally flicking up to her before sheepishly returning to stare at her dwindling meal.

"_She had nobody, not really. And in a place that was actively hostile towards her,"_ Raven muses, her gaze softening slightly. "_At least the Titans had no idea who and what I was when I went to _them_. If Quinn hadn't been there, would she be dead right now?_"

At that, Raven violently shakes her head, shooing away that line of thought.

Seeming to believe her mental considerations decided on, Jinx clears her throat, her pink eyes bearing into the psychic's own gaze.

"Sooo… I know you've got some telepathy in you, at least a little. Do you believe me?"

Raven thinks back on the whole story, realizing with a start that despite her fear, she had not felt a shred of deceit from the woman outside of trying to not say what she'd done for Waller out loud. Which, in itself, was a perfectly understandable half-lie, which she certainly won't hold against her.

"I do," she responds finally, after noticing the meta beginning to nervously fidget. "I… apologize, for attacking you, and for directly causing you to put your life in danger simply by inquiring on it… I fear that discovering this planet's ineptitude, and the dangerous nature of that gem in particular, has made my logic somewhat frayed this evening."

A Cheshire grin spreads across Jinx's lips, and she leans forward, quickly ruffling Raven's hair.

The psychic blinks in surprise, even as her neck begins to color to match her face.

"People don't touch me," she comments, noticing with irritation the slight waver to her voice.

"Well, I just did," Jinx retorts while moving back to her previous position. "And look, still have my hands and everything. You shouldn't take life too seriously. As for the mortal peril, what's done is done. It's been about ten minutes, and nobody's come crashing through the window with a gun or fireball, so I figure it's safe."

Jinx's grin takes on a more mischievous quality as her mind works.

"_What's risk without a little reward? Turn-about's fair play, an' all that_," she muses.

"So, I think that, as I've been so good and satisfied your sense of immediate threat, it's only fair if you answer some questions I have for you, too. I wasn't around the Titans long enough to sit down and try to chat with you. Damn shame, too," she adds, enjoying the psychic's discomfort.

"I, uh… I don't… _do_ **_chats_**, Jinx."

"If you say so. We'll just have to fix that, won't we? To make it worth your time, I'll answer any other questions you have for me, as long as they don't endanger me to answer. For real, this time," she adds with a grimace, just now remembering how she'd started her story.

"I really don't know what you have to ask me, but as I _did _essentially break a gag order, I do owe you some form of repayment," Raven sighs into her once-again empty teacup.

"I'll just settle for questions, this time," Jinx says with a light laugh, grinning at her ability to make the stoic so red in the face. "So, where should I start, hmmm?"

She taps her chin in thought, a large array of questions coming and being dismissed as fast as she can come up with them. Something in their conversation sticks out, though, and her grin loses some of its mirth.

"Why do you monitor that hole of a country Zandia?"

Raven's mask slips, showing her surprise against her will. She briefly considers lying, but decides that the metahuman's honesty deserves a response in kind.

"The cult you took down, and the gem around your neck, are both part of the Church of Blood. As you were surely told, the Church operates in Zandia. So it is only natural that, as I keep track of their every activity and maneuver, especially those dealing with demons, I would keep track of their home base. And before you ask, yes, that is why I'm after that gem, as well. I needed to make sure one of the church's members didn't get their hands on it. The previous Brother Blood was bad, but I do not yet know how dangerous such an item would be in the new leader's hands."

"Wasn't expecting a freebie getting tossed in," Jinx muses. "I suppose you already know my next question, but it's your turn, now."

Nodding, Raven ponders her options before deciding on the most pressing question.

"Why would you so easily decide to give up information that could get you killed, to someone you hardly know? With what you told me, it seems like you could've escaped me, if you really desired to."

"Simply, you saw me. You _tracked_ me. I'm in Jump on orders to be _very _discreet about helping you guys, and the League. I made a judgment call when you chased me up onto the roof. The easiest way to keep my presence a secret is to give the person who managed to track me from the museum so easily a reason to keep it a secret from others. If I just ran off, I'd have to deal with everyone you called to aid in tracking me down, and a lot of people would know I'm here."

"Do not be so sure of that last part," Raven interrupts, her face returning to its normal color once more. "I parted from the Titans this evening under less than friendly circumstance, and if I had called for assistance, it would make my assurance to Nightwing that I could find items on my own seem arrogant and presumptuous."

"_Really_? Bucking authority, are we? Naughty, naughty, Raven," Jinx mocks, grinning from ear to ear. "Regardless, I'll admit part of my decision was that I figured, out of anyone, that you could keep things to yourself. Until tonight, I had assumed a lot of the rumors about you being… uh-"

Her own face turns red, and Raven partakes in her own smirk.

"Is the word you're looking for, by any chance, _cold_?" she asks, a lot less harshly than Jinx expects.

"Yeah, kinda'. Glad to find out that the rumors are wrong, though. You're positively chatty once someone gets past that mask of yours."

Raven begins to deny the claim, before a deeper part of her mind growls as it wonders _why _she should argue against compliments.

"So there was that, which made my decision acceptable to the mission objectives. That I was right, as usual, doesn't hurt. Anyway, you already knew about the club, and discovered by my not so brilliant slipping of information that I was in it. I admit, I was planning on bolting. I know, I know, shocking! I seemed so calm, right?"

Raven snickers despite herself, pouring the last of the tea in the glass beaker into her cup.

"But then, you told me to calm down. Like it was no big deal. You didn't immediately start cursing my existence, or start preachin' at me, which I'm sure the others would've. So, I decided you weren't a threat to the mission."

"I feel honored," Raven deadpans, grimacing at how cold the tea is.

Smiling, Jinx reaches across the table and touches the cup, her eyes briefly flaring with pink light. When the glow fades, steam rises from the cup.

With a gesture from the meta, Raven sips again, humming in appreciation.

"Another of those new skills?"

"Uh-huh. Though a far more practical use than what the actual power is usually for since I learned it. Anyways, given our past experiences, as well as your reaction to finding out what I've been up to for two years, I figured my impression that you're a logical and intelligent woman were correct, and so I banked on you not judging me while I talked."

She finishes the last bite of her food and stacks her plates, finding to her shock that she's still hungry, somehow.

"I'm going to order some more. You want in?"

Raven simply nods, writing for another order of the tea, as well as something of substance, before handing the notepad to Jinx.

"Of course, more went into it. It's actually really nice, to be able to get all this out of my system to someone other than Gizmo. He ain't exactly sympathetic. But all of this isn't the driving force for having this conversation here and now, instead of talking you into waiting on it."

"Oh? Well, by all means, don't keep me in suspense."

Smirking, Jinx tears the new order form free and rises, walking it over to the window for the kitchen.

When she returns to her seat, she stops at Raven's side of the booth, bending close to her side.

"It's been a long time since I had dinner with a cute woman," she says, laughing when Raven jumps, apparently having been lost in her own mind and failing to notice her approach.

Raven's blush returns full-force as Jinx flounces down onto her own side of the table.

Her mind whirls at the remark, but before she can become uncomfortable, or more distressingly _curious_, Jinx interrupts her thoughts with a laugh.

"And I wanted to keep it going," she continues as if having never stopped. "So I simply had to lure you in, with the intrigue of having dinner with a spy."

At that, Raven laughs, the noise startling her.

"I admit, if that was your plan by coming down here, it has certainly worked, Jinx. It's… difficult… for people to _intrigue _me," she muses, blushing all the way from her neck to the roots of her hair at this point.

"I believe it's your question, now," Raven prompts, deciding that the gem shall certainly be handled during the night, so rush is unnecessary…  
************************

_Author's Notes_:

I find it a little sad that the past three chapters was spawned, when first writing out the plot of the story, by the desire to have Jinx flirting with Raven and bringing her out of her self-enforced shell.

With that in mind, readers, how'd I do, both with handling the characters so far and making a believable exposition? Let me know your thoughts, good or bad. See you next time!


	9. Issue of Trust

Issue of Trust

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Jinx's eyes narrow in thought, once again picking out from a list of possible topics to keep the black-haired mystic engaged.

She had flirted, pretty blatantly, with the woman.

Getting a rise out of her was fun, as it turned out. But proving that the rumors about her felt like an achievement of some kind, and she finds herself wanting to bring her out from behind the walls she cocooned herself in more as the conversation continues.

"Okay. I was gonna' ask you why you track the church, but you've just said as much as that you're sticking around for a while. Apparently I ain't the only one enjoying good conversation," she remarks.

"You've no idea."

"So, how 'bout… how did you track me? I was careful about leaving traces all over the place, and you didn't have Cy hack the cameras around to find me, if that bit about you soloing it tonight is true. The Five wouldn't be in the mood to answer your questions while bandaging See-More, Billy, and Private up. So how the hell'd you do it?"

"Somehow, I doubt that would have helped much, if Gizmo is your partner. We got a signal earlier this evening about a break-in into the museum. While in the process of aggressively questioning a cultist, some information led me to connect the two, and I headed there immediately."

"Okay, wait. Can I change my question to what, exactly, _aggressively questioning _means?" Jinx asks with a toothy grin. "Oh, no, wait, wait, lemme guess!"

Jinx closes her eyes in mock concentration, the grin not leaving even under the heat of Raven's glare.

"I'm picturin' something. I see Batman dropping a thug off the roof, only to grab their ankle at the exact moment he begins screaming in terrified panic. Yeah, that's what comes to mind. And here I thought your badass solo comment was to impress."

At this, Raven's expression darkens, a grin of her own forming as she leans forward over the table.

"If you have to ask that, Jinx, trust me, you don't want to know the answer."

Something about her tone sends a pleasant shiver through Jinx, and she sits back, hands raised in surrender.

"Alright, alright, I'll take the safe out here. Please, continue," she adds with a slight cough.

"By the time I reached the museum, they were gone. I could pick you up, but your aura was… _different_ than the last time we met. Now I know why, at least. At any rate, I tracked the gem, not you. It gives off a very specific psychic frequency. You needn't worry, though. The trail was fading as I followed it, and to begin with, I imagine that very few people other than me would have any idea what they were looking for in the first place, to catch the frequency. It's fairly low-key to begin with."

"So I wasn't sloppy. Phew," Jinx sighs in relief, leaning back as the waiter returns with another plate for each of them along with a fresh, steaming beaker of tea.

"You gals're making the old man's week," he remarks with a smile as he rises from his graceful bend.

"Whoever's back there isn't getting paid enough. They're fantastic at their job," Jinx comments, handing him the dirty plates.

"Indeed, even your tea is quite well-made," Raven adds with a smile. "Tell him he can expect more business in the near future."

Nodding, the waiter leaves them to their privacy with a large smile of his own.

"Son of the owner?" Jinx ponders.

Raven smiles at the warm emotions coming from the young man as he moves back into the kitchen.

"That seems like a good guess. Now then…"

A strange thought occurs to Raven, and her mouth moves of its own accord even as her blush returns once more.

"What's your name? I mean outside of your handle," she adds quickly in response to her confused expression.

"Okay, I'll admit that I was not expecting _that_. I just prefer Jinx… Back when I was just Nicole Diaz, my name was dull, uninteresting, and full of a lot of memories better left dead and forgotten. So when I got the opportunity to pick my handle when the H.I.V.E. took me in, I went with a much more interesting and accurate name."

Her soured expression quickly morphs back into her smirk, an index finger raising to point at Raven.

"And what's _your_ real name, Raven?"

"Raven," the psychic responds with a shrug.

"No way. It's at least believable as a real name unlike mine, but that's too convenient."

With a raised eyebrow, Raven simply shrugs once more at her.

"Raven, daughter of Arella. For legal purposes, I'm also Rachel Roth, bastard daughter of Angela Roth."

"_Rachel_, huh?"

Jinx repeats the name several times, seeming to test the sound of it.

"Not too bad. I could see it. Raven definitely suits you more, though."

She laughs lightly in response, the sound almost missed by Jinx.

"Glad I meet your approval. Why'd you break up with Kid Flash?"

Her eyes widen as soon as the words leave, her mind working backwards as it tries, and fails, to figure out where that question had come from. She internally winces at the expression on Jinx's face.

"I can ask something else if that's too personal," she states almost apologetically.

"I bet a lot of you guys have wondered that since he told you."

"I'm sure. I am not one of them. Or at least, I assumed I wasn't. I really have no clue where that came from."

Jinx nods her head, seeming to have come to a decision.

"I liked him. A lot… But I didn't like myself when I was around him," she starts. "I was becoming incredibly jealous. And it started getting on my nerves, especially when he noticed and seemed to think, thanks to his cocky attitude, that was a natural response. So, after a ton of thinking on it, I made the hard choice. I left him, for the betterment of us both… I knew that he and a lot of his friends in the Titans would feel betrayed by the departure. If I could do it all over again, though, I would have been more gentle about it. And I would've tried going into demolition work or something that didn't involve blood," she adds, trying to lighten the mood.

"I apologize for bringing up even more bad memories."

"Oh, no need for that. It's interesting, seeing what kind of thing goes on in your mind when you're not playing it cold. But, if we're going to go onto heavy topics, then fair is fair. Why don't you lead the Titans?"

Raven's mirth dwindles slightly at that, eyes noticeably widening.

"I mean, you have that black stuff you throw around, you can teleport, you know magic, and you're freaking _psychic. _You've also got a cool head. It's something I've wondered about ever since we first met as kids."

Raven fidgets in discomfort, a treacherous part of her brain pointing out that those very things had occurred to her not just once, especially with Nightwing's recent leadership of the team.

"_Maybe she could be a good sounding board?_" she sighs mentally.

"When I first arrived in Jump City, I was… looking for some aid that the Justice League in its wisdom decided didn't need to be given. I actually formed the Titans. But, as I'm sure you've gathered, I'm not a very social person. Sure, I can do a _lot_ of damage, and I'm rational to a fault, but leading a team of strangers? No, that was Robin's thing."

"Okay… so that explains why you _didn't_ lead them. Why _don't_ you?"

"I… I've gotten more confident over the years. This conversation? It would never have even started back when we first started. But I prefer to stay in support, a sentiment that Nightwing vocally agrees with."

"Seriously? You're a walking tank of supernatural ass-kicking, and he has you running in the back?"

"You mentioned Dr. Light before. That is what my powers can do to someone with as much self-confidence as to never give up despite never once succeeding in his criminal career. Would _you _want that actively thrown against the petty thieves and simpletons in way over their head?"

"_Me_, the mercenary, specifically? Hell yeah, I would want that right on the front lines with me. But I could see how that'd go against bird-brain's preaching that he's any better than the Bat."

"Indeed. There's also another matter, which were I the leader, would be rather troublesome."

"Oh? Would this have anything to do with that _aggressive questioning_?"

"That, too, yes. And if I had the sense of a leader's responsibility, we would never have sat down together and begun enjoying such good food and conversation, something which I have not enjoyed with anyone not a Titan before, and recently even them."

Jinx blushes this time, shocked at the perceived return of her flirting.

"Well, then, I guess we should both be glad that the bird-brain commands you guys," she says, raising her glass in a mock toast.

Smirking, Raven raises her teacup and meets it with a clink.

As she sips at the steaming liquid, though, Raven's expression loses some of its warmth, then, obvious conflict showing in her expression.

A slight red glow permeates the air around Jinx, the sensation grating against Raven's mind like a knife.

"And as much as I would greatly enjoy continuing the conversation, the night is growing late, and that gem is beginning to make it more difficult to enjoy myself."

"Alright, I guess we'll move onto business, then," Jinx sighs, lamenting the shift in their conversation. "Make your case. We're both reasonable women, so if you can convince me, the bossman shouldn't ride my ass too hard, since I'll technically be finishing the job anyway."

"I don't suppose telling you to give it to me so I can guard it en transit to where it can be safely taken care of will work?"

"I like you, Raven, increasingly so the longer you loosen up in my company. And like I said, I think you're a helluva powerful sorceress. On the other hand, false imprisonment in a maximum security has made trust difficult. Also, I have this policy I thought of when I was assigned to this, namely that I trust even less than normal when it comes to handing demon-summoning gemstones powered by generations of the blood from sons killing fathers in blood rituals to take over a demonic cult. A bit long-winded, but relevant."

At this, Raven laughs once more, this time leaving no question as to whether it happens or not.

"That is a _very _good policy to take up, Jinx. And honestly? I would say I trust you and yours a lot more than I do the museum that put it on display for the public in the first place."

"Well, that was easier than I tho-"

"But the gem's dangerous, Jinx. Not just in general, but even wearing it puts you at risk. The thing amplifies power on top of being a portal generator. It may be a concern unwarranted, but with what I know of the Church and its machinations, it will almost certainly make your powers go out of control."

"I'm touched that you're worried, Raven," Jinx laughs, melodramatically batting her eyes and placing a hand over her heart.

"Laugh, Jinx, but know that I am most sincere. You have the power to make things break down, and now you've developed control over the Earth's ground and fire. If it doesn't cause your powers to go berserk, it could overload and kill you. At any rate, something bad _will_ happen as long as the cursed blood poured on it still… has… huh," she says, eyes widening as a thought occurs to her.

"Uh… Raven? Care to share the sudden inspiration?"

"What if we can both win? I remove the threat of what the gem can do, and you can report a successful mission."

"I'd say that's great, if you tell me how you plan on doing that."

"We disenchant it," Raven states, mind working rapidly as the plan works itself out.

"I don't know how we'd do that. We're talking _centuries _of bad mojo," Jinx argues, pulling the gem from inside her shirt as it begins heating up.

"You don't want to risk a sorceress like myself misusing the gem between the time I retrieve it and the time it's given to someone who isn't an irresponsible ass, probably Doctor Fate. I want to make the gem something that won't be a danger to everyone down the road. The best way for those two goals to meet in the middle is if we remove the energy inside of the gem. We strip the power, I send it into the universe to disperse harmlessly, and what we have left is a hunk of pretty but useless red rock and several hours to further enjoy ourselves."

"Okay, I think I could see that working, actually," Jinx says with a nod. "We'd basically be hitting reset on it."

"Well then, let's move. I don't want my tea going cold again," Raven says, extending her hand out to the meta.

Nervously, Jinx grasps the surprisingly warm limb, and the booth flashes with a burst of black energy.

"I advise you don't let go," Raven warns.

Jinx is nervously aware of a tugging sensation on her mind, and suddenly, they are floating in a strange, red skyscape, their hands still linked.

"And you can astral project, too? Life just ain't fair. Anything you _weren't _gifted with being able to do that most people wish they could try?" Jinx groused.

Yet another laugh leaves Raven, this one sounding far less pleasing, and assuring Jinx she much prefers the other noises the psychic makes.

"_Gifts_ indeed. This is the astral landscape Nevermore. Best place to deal with a psychic energy problem, right?"

Jinx doesn't respond as they float rapidly down to a massive hunk of flying rock and warped mountain…  
******************

_Author's Notes_:

Nicole Diaz is an alias of the Indian version of Jinx in the comics. In the comics based around the 2000 cartoon, what Jinx describes is what I've gathered is the case with her personality while dating Kid Flash.

I recently found to my amazement that I am more of a writer than I had thought. Looking at the stats on this site from my first story, I have written 6 full-length novel fanfictions, and this one, at only the 8th of 45 chapters I've planned out so far, is already at least half the word count that is considered as a novel. So that was an awe-inspiring moment of realization. It also made me wonder why my brain doesn't work nearly as well when I'm trying to write stories in my own fictional universe.

Just one of those oddities.

Anyways, as always, I hope you're enjoying thus far! Whether you like it or not, let me know. Letting me know _why_ would also be nice, so I can improve myself as I go. See you next time!


	10. Nevermore

Nevermore

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

"How're we going to drain the gem here? If this is an astral plane, then there's no chance these are our real bodies," Jinx says as soon as they land. "No bodies, no gem."

In response, Raven releases her hand and turns her palm up.

With the meta's gaze on her, a cloud of black forms, and Jinx gasps as a window into the utterly normal cafe appears.

Silently, Raven reaches through and flicks her wrist against the gem, sending it into a small jump around Jinx's neck.

In response, the necklace around her astral form jumps in kind, almost hitting her in the face.

"What happens here happens in the mortal world," Raven explains as the portal quickly snaps shut.

"Not from anything I've ever heard about Astral travel," Jinx argues, holding the gem away as if it would attack her. "I mean outside of dying or getting trapped, obviously."

"Nevermore's a bit… different. While it's a mental, astral plane, it's also my mind. Kinda. It's kind of hard to explain, but it means that we're not totally here physically, nor are we totally psychic. So things that happen here reflect on the world outside."

Jinx stares at her with a gaping mouth, mind reeling at the information.

Shaking her head to snap out of it, she casts her eyes around the gloomy landscape.

"Well, it definitely suits you… Do I have to spend another question to figure out how the hell a person has a whole landscape in their _brain_?"

"I'm going to take that as a compliment, Jinx. And really, I just have a very _odd_ genealogy, which lends itself to having a tendency towards dimensional weirdness."

"Uh-huh," Jinx responds, glaring skeptically at the unblinking woman. "So, riddle me this, Raven."

The psychic flinches slightly at her tone, one she always finds incredibly uncomfortable to hear, since the Monks arguing for her death had first used it.

"We're in your head. What could possibly tell me that everything I see and feel is real in here? For all I know, this could be a massive illusion. I mean, for all I know, I could really be unconscious at the diner right now, playing out some pre-recorded sights. Raven, if your _mind _looks like this, I don't-"

Raven puts her hand on the woman's shoulder, quickly cutting her off.

As she feels the rising panic in the feline metahuman, she realizes the error in her decision.

"I'd tell you it doesn't work that way, but frankly, you're right. Were the situations reversed, I would not trust anything my senses told me, nor would I accept anything I experienced in someone else's mind."

"So what the hell, Raven? Where exactly does that leave us? Cuz' I was having a lot more fun a few minutes ago, before you brought the damned gem up again, and I'd prefer to go back to that than suddenly be wondering if my brain's stuck somewhere."

Before Raven can answer, something shifts the rocks and ground nearby, and both women turn to face what's coming, though only Jinx puts her fists up as if preparing for a fight.

"There's a simple solution to your issue," a voice, _Raven's _voice, states.

Jinx's eyes widen as another Raven, dressed in yellow and wearing large glasses, appears in the rocky field.

Raven feels a sense of foreboding fill her stomach, and she silently stares at her Emoticlone, wondering what she's doing.

"Okay, not giving me confidence I'm not being messed with, Raven," Jinx says, not sure which one she's addressing.

The yellow-garbed figure has no such issue. Instead, she holds her hand out, and a black dagger materializes at Jinx's feet.

"You want proof that you aren't under an illusion. Simple solution, then. You kill her, then the illusion would fail, and it'd be over. You wake up. Of course, the down side would be waking up with her body slumped over in a coma across the diner's table, but if the whole night's been an illusion, then that's not a worry, right? No Titans will come hunting vigorously for who attacked her, and by extension myself."

Raven pales at Wisdom's words, even as Jinx clutches at her head.

"Gah! You're making me even more confused. Why the hell're there two of you?" she demands, going with the first question she can think of and desperately hoping the answer distracts her from her building migraine.

"Making it simple, she's part of my brain, just as Nevermore itself is," Raven states, glaring at her avatar.

"I said it's simple," Wisdom states. "You said you're worried about this all being a huge illusion built by us to ghost away the gem from your unconscious body. Surely, then, a former member of the Suicide Squad would find the choice to kill the basis for her illusion and free herself a very easy choice to make. And no, I am not breaking my geas, because as you pointed out, we're in her head, which means it's technically just you two here."

"Wisdom, you're not helping," Raven growls, eyes becoming narrow slits at Jinx's growing bodily tremors.

Jinx again sends her stare from one to another, finding her headache stretching to new heights of pain.

"If, on the other hand, you follow your instincts, where I suspect your real problem lies… well, then surely you'll find the idea of picking up that very real ceremonial dagger that was left here whilst Raven practiced its use and stabbing her with it to be… _disagreeable_."

Going over the logic, Raven gives a grudging nod to her other self, walking slowly up to the trembling Jinx.

"She isn't wrong, Jinx. Stabbing me would remove any doubt as to whether or not I am playing games with your mind, and it would also put me into a, possibly irreversible, coma right on the diner table. I should have explained things a lot more thoroughly before we came here, and I'm afraid that your understandable torment lies solely at the feet of my uncharacteristic impatience."

Jinx's shakes calm slightly under Raven's grip, and her mind slows down with them.

Without the soul-crushing panic, her instincts can once more assert itself into her logic.

"I don't have a fucking clue what to do, Raven," she says, deciding it's the only thing she _is_ sure of. "I want to trust that we're really in some weird, messed up mental representation of your brain, and that we can de-power this damn gem and go back to the by-far more pleasant night we were enjoying while you were distracted."

"But…?" Raven prompts.

"But tonight was the first time we talked outside of banter when we were still fighting, and that's a _lot_ of years for a person to change. Something I know damn well. I mean, for all I know, this is what you were talking about with yer damned _aggressive questioning_, Raven."

"I won't lie, this _is _more or less what I meant by that term. I don't bring people here, though. Too much risk to my psyche if they manage to hurt me in here, as my other self over there said. So I won't tell you that you can trust me, because really, you can't, not here. But think about it, with a calm mind. We talked for an hour, and the entire time was very enjoyable to us both."

"More than you'd know, to have her admit to that," the yellow Raven adds, turning and leaving now that the crisis is in the process of ending.

"_Anyways_, I need you to think about things. Your concern is valid. There's a counterpoint, though. From the time that we entered the cafe, you worked under the theory that you could trust your instincts, that at the very least I was not an immediate threat, despite knowing what I can do. Correct?"

Jinx nods, seeming to become calmer as her headache disappears.

"Then, I raise a question. What reason could I possibly have, to come up with an elaborate scheme, in the course of less than an hour, mind you, to manipulate you to coming here to trap you, when we were getting along just fine? I brought you here to do just what I stated. I want to drain the gem of its magic, and I decided you'd best join me so that you'd be able to keep me under watch so you know I don't do anything other than exactly what I said I would."

Raven gently squeezes Jinx's shoulder, stopping her interruption short.

"I should've explained how we'd be doing this… In here, the Titans, the Church of Blood, and anyone else knowing to look, will not know what is happening, and so it can be done without the irritating bureaucracy of either of our organizations' involvement. You achieve your objective, and I remove the threat that, as my lack of forethought proves, I find more worrisome than I originally assumed. I swear to you, Jinx, that was the reasoning of bringing you here, where I am uncomfortably vulnerable."

Something in Raven's voice reaches Jinx, and she cautiously meets the psychic's eyes. If her instincts hadn't been enough to convince her into accepting Raven's word, the regret burning in her gaze would have done it all on its own.

Letting out a deep sigh, Jinx gently pulls Raven's hand from her shoulder, her grin far more shaky than she would like.

"Alright, Raven. I'm going to have plenty of questions when we leave here, but for now, it'd suck to go through that and not get something accomplished. So what do we need to do?"

Raven's face visibly relaxes, a relieved noise coming from her that she is utterly unaware of.

"Okay. I need you to put the gem on the ground."

Nodding, Jinx begins unsnapping the chain from around her neck, a sudden thought occurring to her.

"The gem ain't gonna just fall off me in the diner, will it? Because that'd draw attention, and I don't think they'd handle two suddenly unconscious women well."

"Um… I don't know, actually," Raven muses with a blush.

She again opens her window into the real world, intently looking at the gem.

"Unsnap the chain, but don't put the gem down," she says without looking at the meta.

A relieved smile forms when Jinx moves the gem from herself and the physical one doesn't follow.

The window closes once more, and Raven gives her a nod.

As soon as the gem is on the rocky ground, Raven sits cross-legged before it. It takes only a hand gesture, and Jinx follows suit, the two forming a circle around it, their knees almost touching.

A thought occurs to Jinx, and her grey skin pales somewhat to reflect it.

"So, uh, how're we doing this? Because I _really_ don't want this thing exploding on me," she states.

Raven shakes her head in response, a smile tugging at her lips.

"What would make you think that?"

"Well, the whole _it can make you die_ thing was a clue… I mean, that makes it sound like I couldn't control it, which would mean it's unstable, right?"

"You seem to have misunderstood my explanation somewhat, Jinx. It is undeniably dangerous, but it is not _volatile_ in nature. Were it unstable, the energy trace would have been imbalanced and likely too chaotic for me to follow. It will not explode, so long as we manage things well. As long as I don't go around smashing it and making the vessel itself unsuitable, nothing will explode."

"Okay, that makes me feel better… I'll warn you now that even though I've been working on things, I've only recently gotten into full-blown sorcery. I don't know many spells, so I really don't have a clue what good I'll do."

"No need to be humble, Jinx. That's a trait I certainly don't remember of you. Be proud of your vast improvement over so relatively short a time."

Jinx's grin returns in full force, an appreciative hum sounding in the back of her throat.

"I _am_ pretty awesome."

"Indeed," Raven deadpans. "At any rate, I'll be doing most of the work. You'll be acting as the second part of a circuit, so I can drain the power from it without taking the full brunt of that power on my own."

"So I'm just some kind of insulation?" the pink-haired woman responds with a frown.

"Not in so many words, no. You have a decent amount of power, and a lot of potential, so your aid will keep me from going into a temporary coma from the strain. Because you are foreign to this realm, you'll ground me, so to speak, and significantly reduce the stress on my mind and power."

"Wouldn't it be better to have someone who, uh, _knows_ how to do this stuff, then?" Jinx asks, her sudden nervousness clear.

"The point is subtlety, Jinx. As I said, I do not take random people here. Most do not even know of this place's existence. Which is why all the mystics in the various worlds won't feel a thing when we drain the negativity from the gem here, at least in theory."

"So why'd you bring me here? I get the whole _keeping this quiet_ thing. But you barely know me, and apparently, if I'd taken that knife, I could've made you braindead."

"Path of least resistance," Raven explains. "Again, I did not think this all out nearly as well as I should have, or normally would. But you have the gem. Were that not enough, you put your life in direct danger with your confession of your absent time. Kind of hard to mistrust you after that much faith you put in your instincts, and as a consequence myself."

"That why you're so open about everything?"

Raven's smile widens at that.

"In part. And that you're very entertaining to talk to certainly did not hurt my willingness to continue the conversation. Shall we get started?"

With that, she closes her eyes, Jinx mirroring the action.

A gasp sounds as power floods through her, both of them rising off the ground and floating above the gem, now giving off angry red sparks of energy.

Raven's mouth moves, a language long-forgotten by humans reaching Jinx's ears.

Their hair begins to move in waves in the air around them, and with their eyes closed, neither notices the brilliant glow their bodies send out into the landscape before them.

They stay like this for a small eternity, Raven's mouth moving to an ancient rhythm while Jinx instinctively meets the energy and completes the magical circuit.

With a snap, the ritual reaches its peak, and a violent tremor runs through the ground under them.

Raven's eyes shoot open just as a massive column of red light rises from the gem, mixed with sparks of other colors that have no rhyme or reason to their existence.

The column reaches the red clouds above them, and a much larger hole than Raven's rips itself into existence above it.

Both women look up as the column shoots through, reaching the white clouds of Earth and quickly expanding with billions of strands of colored light.

Raven stretches her arms out, and Jinx grabs her hands almost automatically.

As soon as they touch, the column expands, and with the sound of panes of glass shattering, it leaves the gem altogether, the tail quickly expanding into more colored sparks of energy into the universe.

As it leaves, the women collapse back to the ground, their exhaustion making itself known.

Noticing the signature of the gem, Raven groans, releasing Jinx, who promptly falls onto her back to pant heavily on the ground.

"Please… tell me… we can finish eating… now," she wheezes, wiping at a large bead of sweat on her brow.

"That was… just the negative energy… in the gem," Raven responds. "There's still energy there…"

Jinx stares at her in horror, her expression quickly turning to a glare at Raven's audible laugh.

"Not… funny…"

Raven takes a deep sigh, her own breath evening out far more quickly than the unpracticed meta.

"I wasn't joking. All of that was the generations of evil stored in there. There was a large part of the energy stored as well, but there remains energy yet. However, it is no more powerful now than your everyday energy vessel. Nothing special about it anymore."

"Then just… say that… damnit," Jinx sighs, slowly feeling the ache in her brain fading as she talks.

"Will do."

Raven puts her hand on her forehead, and a circle of white light forms in her palm.

Immediately, Jinx's fatigue fades, eyes closing as a moan escapes her.

Blushing, Raven jerks her hand away.

"What was that?" Jinx asks, slowly sitting up.

"Healing your mental fatigue is easy enough, and the least I can do for putting you through all this."

"You can put me through it _any time_, if that's how I get rewarded," Jinx retorts, laughing at the dark red burning Raven's skin.

"Regardless. We've worked enough out to make the gem safe, so my mission is complete. For all I care, you can keep it yourself, now. The Church of Blood should have no interest of it once the word gets around anonymously that their toy was destroyed, as well."

"You'd better believe I'm keeping the damn thing, after all that," Jinx laughs. "As far as the bossman will be concerned, the threat's neutralized."

Nodding, Raven rises to her feet, pulling Jinx up to follow when she takes her offered hand.

"Hold on. Again," she states as another pulse of black energy washes over them...  
***********************

_Author's Notes_:

I was rather surprised, but the actual term for Raven's emotional avatars in Teen Titans Go! seems to really be Emoticlones. They'll be coming into things, too, a bit later.

For this scene, I actually had a rather hard time figuring out how to write it. When I got to the point that Raven reveals what Nevermore is, I originally planned on it being something said in passing that impresses Jinx. When I actually wrote it, though, I wondered how Jinx could possibly be nonchalant, when for all intents and purposes it means that literally anything and everything around her could be false to trick her. Hope I handled it realistically.

If I did, let me know. Compliments are always welcome. And if I didn't, let me know, because criticism is fantastic for figuring out my weak points, which objectively I have a hard time seeing. See you next time!


	11. Reluctant Departures

Reluctant Departures

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Jinx's head snaps to attention, finding herself once again at the diner.

The lack of sensation from the gem on her chest is what alerts her to the fact that their work has paid off.

With a grin, she reaches for her drink to deal with her suddenly incredibly dry mouth.

Finding it still steaming, a frown takes form. Her gaze immediately moves over to the clock on the cafe's wall, and her eyes widen.

"How the- It's not even five minutes!"

"So I see," Raven deadpans whilst sipping from her tea.

"But… we were in… er… _you_… for hours," she says, both of them blushing at the statement.

"Also true. Time doesn't flow the same in Nevermore."

"I see… Your mind's a weird place. No offense, Rae, but it's hella' creepy in there. I much prefer being in the real world!" she adds with a grin.

"So it seems. I can't apologize enough for all of _that_," she adds with a grimace.

"No problem. But you know what this means, don't you?"

"That a potential friendship's been ruined by unintentional mental scarring?"

Raven, to most people, would look entirely stoic at that statement. Jinx, however, notices some incomprehensible amounts of regret in her gaze.

"Nope. It _means_ that now, we're officially off-duty. No more talking shop tonight. So let's see what we can do about this _potential_ friendship, shall we?"

Raven ponders this quietly.

"_Nightwing will want a report. A report I'm not going to be able to give."_

She brings her communicator out of a pocket on her belt, checking to see what reports came in during their engagement.

Finding nothing in the hour since her departure, she gives a nod to herself and snaps the communicator shut.

"I think I'd like that."  
****************************

"-so you can imagine my surprise when I get a call in the middle of the night. I mean, they're _monks_. You would expect they'd be in the middle of their meditations," Raven states, an amused smirk coloring her lips.

"What the hell'd the kid do? Aren't they supposed to be all above irritation, and stuff?" Jinx inquires, her own lips stuck in a perpetual grin.

"Well, evidently, as she has aged throughout my visits, Melvin has acquired some of my less… _holy_ interests. The monks had a fit when their meditations were interrupted by that monstrosity from Wicked Scary. Frankly, I didn't know what to say to the distressed man. I certainly couldn't scold her for doing what I'd done to the Titans, and I couldn't simply tell them that her powers naturally reflect her mind. I think that would have made it worse, actually."

"So what'd you do?" Jinx asks, sliding yet another empty plate onto the growing stack at her side.

"I went there and made her see reason. Unlike my inadvertent manifestation, Melvin was _entirely_ aware of her actions. I told her that she would feel terrible if her play ended up causing the monks to have heart failure, and in that light, she agreed that it'd be terrible. Interestingly, though, the monks had a lot more lights installed into their facility the very next week."

At that, Jinx laughs, shaking her head.

"Damn, Rae, those poor guys didn't know what they were in for."

"Indeed. If not for my regular visitations, I think they would have tried to form a timeshare with other groups, by this point. They may have the patience of wise-men, but they do not have bodies to keep up with their antics."

Jinx's smile grows at the warmth in the psychic's voice.

It had taken nearly two hours of their meeting, but she had finally managed to get Raven out of those damned walls she kept herself locked in.

The hour following after that break-through has been a lot more informative about the mysterious Titan than Jinx ever could've hoped.

"_Not to mention just plain fun_," she adds mentally to herself.

Looking at the clock during the lull in their almost nonstop conversation, Raven's eyes widen.

"How have they not kicked us out yet?"

"Well, it could be that they just don't want to ruin the adorable sight of you when you're really enjoying yourself."

Raven's face instantly turns the red color that Jinx has become accustomed to, both of them shocked at how easy it is for the meta to cause the reaction.

"But I think it's probably all this," she says, gesturing to the many small plates around them.

Many cups of tea and small snacks had paved the way to their being allowed essentially free-reign of the cafe, neither the waiter nor the cook in the back inclined to interrupt the strange women.

"Yes, that makes some sense," the psychic agrees. "You know, Jinx, for an ex-convict, you are by far the most entertaining person I've conversed with in a very long time. Interesting, too, truth be told. Perhaps your plan to intrigue me worked better than expected."

"Awe, you're just pandering. I mean, you work and live with Batman's ex-apprentice, an alien queen, a genetic-level shapeshifter, and a freaking genius engineer with half a robot's body. How's that possible?"

"Nightwing has become… _difficult_… to converse with recently. He's becoming far too much like his mentor, which would actually be okay, but he refuses to see it and clings to thinking as he did when we were children. Beast Boy… don't even get me started. What was once kind of amusing and endearing machismo in his youth has become nigh-intolerable arrogance for more than short bursts of time."

Raven takes a long sip of her tea, finishing off yet another cup.

"The others are by far better. But Cyborg, while a very smart man and a good friend, is intelligent in a very different area than myself. My interest in technology, I admit, is nearly nonexistent outside of keeping my monitoring activities hidden. It makes conversations on common interests a more daunting task than should be. And Starfire… well, I like her enough, don't get me wrong, but the woman's constant bubbly happiness makes it nearly impossible for me to have conversations of any actual depth or interest."

"Oh, so the bar's low, then. Yeah, that would make sense for the praise, then," Jinx says, affecting a hurt air that's ruined entirely by her smirk.

Raven feels a pulse of thought pass through her at that, only recognizing it as coming from the more… amorous side of her brain after it was out.

"A low bar doesn't make a high jump less impressive, Jinx."

A brilliant blush burns itself across her face, a much lighter one mirrored on the meta's cheeks.

"That was poetic."

Jinx stares at the Titan in shock. If she didn't know better, she'd think the woman was returning her earlier flirting.

"_Not that I'd mind_," she adds to herself, fighting to keep her gaze focused ahead.

"Seriously, though, Jinx. Do you have any idea when the last time I had stimulating conversation, talking about things other than all the various depressive and gloomy aspects of this planet, was?"

"Well, I'm always up for some stimulation, and I _have _been told I'm quite good at giving it, too," Jinx says, grinning when the empath's face turns beet red.

Before she can respond, a yawn rips its way free, causing Raven to look at the clock.

"Wow. It has become quite late," she muses, just now recognizing how much time has passed with the woman.

"I _must _be good. You always struck me as the very observant type," Jinx laughs.

"Yes. And unfortunately, so is Nightwing," she sighs, running her hand through her dark hair. "I fear we must end this meeting, for today."

"A shame, if ever there was one," Jinx responds with a sigh of her own, some of her mirth vanishing. "I suppose the bird-brain keeps you guys on a short leash, huh?"

"In general, not until recently. But I do not _socialize_ as my teammates do, so it will seem odd, regardless of whether I can come up with an acceptable story as to why I am returning without the gem, which they will surely know was my goal after some inspection and thought on it."

"Well, we're just going to have to fix that first part, aren't we? For the most part, all I have to talk to is Giz, except when someone gets stuck with us for an op. An' he ain't exactly big on… well… _anything_ that I find interesting. You, on the other hand, are a lotta' fun once you get out from your shell, Raven. So I definitely want to do this again, soon."

Raven nods in agreement, having realized with no small amount of surprise that their goals were not the only similarity between them. Jinx's constant questions had revealed their tastes on entertainment to be surprisingly similar, and Raven could admit, if only to herself, that the realization had greatly helped her loosen up.

The two wordlessly leave their booth, a large number of bills mixing on the table to cover their, admittedly rather costly, patronage of the unassuming cafe.

Raven tears a piece of paper from the order notepad and scribbles something down, leaving it between their dishes.

A look of thought crosses her expression, and Jinx watches in curiosity as she rips another page free and writes something else down, pocketing the note for herself this time.

Jinx notices Raven place quite a bit more than would be expected of a tip on top of her note as they leave.

"Used to work as a waitress?" Jinx guesses.

The tiny bell over the door jingles in the still air of the night, and Raven gives her a shrug in response.

"Their sign says they closed as of three hours ago, roughly the exact time we entered. Only fair to pay them for their time," she reasons. "And their options were all quite delicious."

"And the note?"

"A recommendation for a tea they should buy for my next visit, which they'll be compensated well for."

"I'd say you're an addict if it wasn't tea. I still have no idea how you drank so much, even if it was amazing."

"Part of my physiology. Tea does wonders for my faculties, both mental and physical," Raven explains.

"Interesting. And the other note?"

At that, Raven's face confusingly turns red, and Jinx watches her internal debate with fascination.

Finally, Raven pulls the paper from her belt and jerks her arm forward, offering it to the meta.

"My… well, Rachel Roth's phone number. It's a burner phone, used mostly to assure those few who have reason to inquire about my other identity that she does exist. The Titans and League don't know about it, at least so I assume."

Blushing, Jinx takes the paper, her Cheshire smile reforming.

"Is this your way of saying you'd like to repeat this gathering?"

"It will be a safe way for us to communicate," Raven states, outwardly ignoring her quip. "It doesn't endanger me, and it doesn't run the risk of compromising you. If you sense anything in the event of calling that number, let me know, and I'll destroy it immediately."

"Okay… I get the feeling you're tryin' to say somethin' without actually sayin' it here, Raven. Just say it," Jinx laughs.

"You said your mission is to help the League and Titans retrieve the stolen items without being noticed. I could not knowingly subvert the authority of either, obviously. If a mysterious, blocked number were to call me on a civilian number with a tip, I would, however, have every reason to meet up with the anonymous informant and give them aid in tracking down leads, as quite a few vigilantes in the League do."

"You sure you ain't into the whole spy idea? Cause you seem like you'd be good at it," Jinx laughs, sliding the number into her pocket.

"Quite sure," the empath deadpans, not quite able to keep her emotions out of her voice this time.

"_Yeah, she's warming up_," Jinx laughs mentally.

"Well, then, I'll get in contact with the boss and let him know I may possibly have a contact who will collaborate to interfere with our team's discovery, and that we'll be setting up shop near Jump for a while."

"Then I should expect to see you again, soon," Raven says in way of parting, turning to head the opposite direction from Jinx.

"Count on it," the meta responds with her own grin…  
****************************

Raven walks through the doors to Titans Tower, an incredibly uncharacteristic smile curving her lips.

She doesn't remember the last time she had had _fun_, especially not with someone outside of her team.

"_The ease with which she dealt with the aftermath of my poor decision is remarkable, in itself._"

As she goes deeper into the Tower, she finds herself looking forward already to their next meeting.

As soon as she goes through the living room and their de facto command center, though, her good mood dies in an instant.

Zatanna, the witch who condemned the Earth to ruination in her refusal to help her when she came begging, is sitting at the table.

Only she and Nightwing are present, and she feels their dual attentions on her as she enters entirely grating.

"Raven, good that you're here. The others are out hunting down leads, too. Zatanna's going to be temporarily assigned to the team, until these heists are solved," Nightwing says, saving her the trouble of growling a demand to know.

"Any help is good help," Raven muses, letting nothing show as she walks past them towards her room.

"Where's the gem?" Zatanna asks, impeding her progress with the accusing question.

Bristling, Raven turns back to them, finding Nightwing staring intently at her. Her lie came to her with shockingly less effort than she had thought it would require.

"I tracked some leads down, and discovered that some former H.I.V.E. students had stolen it. They appear to have been unaware of what they were stealing. At any rate, it seems to have cause them to go temporarily insane, if the scene I discovered was any indication."

"It can do that?" Nightwing asks, looking between the two women with surprise. "Seriously? And we just let it sit-"

"It cannot cause insanity," Raven disagrees. "What it can do is amplify things in a person, mostly power, but apparently strong emotions such as greed. Or _could_, at any rate. In their fight over it, one of them apparently shattered the gem. All that was left were bits of red rock, blood, and the traces of power draining into the universe to be cycled without its container."

"Well that's… fortunate? I mean, at least the thing can't do harm now, right?" Nightwing asks, apparently accepting her story.

"If it really got smashed, yeah, the power'd drain away without a whole container. _If _it got smashed," Zatanna reiterates, glaring at Raven. "Who knows what a demon or someone working with them would do to cover up the gem and keep it for personal use?"

At that, Nightwing visibly winces, even as Raven's eyes narrow to slits.

And then, she surprises them as a smirk forms on her lips, a slight laugh leaving her.

"Subtle to a fault. Oh, yes, please, _do _go on about my lineage and what it means of me as a person. This is news to me, as I'm sure you're aware. Perhaps I should bake you some cookies to reward your brilliant detective work, Zatanna."

At Zatanna's growing red tinge to her face, Raven brings her hand up to cup her chin, as if deep in thought.

"I mean, who knows what could've happened when I'd come to you on first arrival? I mean, the sperm from which I was sired might have accidentally caused something like Trigon the Terrible being _prevented_ from coming here, instead of the team most of your League looks upon as children having to fight him when he actually got here. Could you imagine such a travesty? I'm still so very glad you know so much about what my blood means for my personality and character."

Nightwing winces once more, this time at the shocked expression on the sorceress's face.

Zatanna opens her mouth to argue, but finds that the criticism is not undeserved.

Only as Raven wordlessly turns and walks the rest of the way to her room does Zatanna realize that the empath had never answered her accusation, just distracted with well-earned guilt.

Through her facade of calm, Raven internally winces, wondering if perhaps Jinx's company had resulted in her actually saying what she was thinking for once.

"_If her emotions are any indication, perhaps I should speak my mind more,"_ she snarks mentally, a vague premonition of an ugly future coiling around her mind...  
****************************

_Author's Notes_:

I had quite a bit of fun with this, especially the banter between Zatanna and Raven. As I said earlier, I like Zatanna as a character, but from everything I know of the initial interaction between the two, she can very easily be sanctimonious. And I admit, I thought of the snark from Raven before I came up with the rest of the conversation that led to it.

As always, be sure to let me know your thoughts, be they positive or negative. See you next time!


	12. Meet the Family

Meet the Family

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

_Several weeks later..._

"So how many do you think this'll make, if Giz's info is right?" Jinx asks as she and Raven move unseen across Jump City's rooftops.

Raven mentally takes count, going over the various items the two have managed to recapture since their initial meeting.

It had not taken Jinx long to call her, and it had taken only slightly more time for the empath to become accustomed to working with her when not out solving crises with the Titans.

"Hmm… I'd say we've gotten about a tenth of the list, now. And you've seen the list, so I'd say it'll be quite a large number, were we to count," she finally states.

"So, from what Giz said, do you think what this guy's got is going back to the museums?"

A few weeks ago, that question would've made Raven bristle and become defensive. Now, though…

Too many items on that list were too dangerous. They'd retrieved a lot of them, yes, but that didn't nearly translate to the same number being returned to the museum.

With a sigh, Raven thanks her luck that they've managed to find enough items of no consequence, or any magic at all, to return to the museums to avoid getting suspicions cast on herself.

The rest laid in wait in Nevermore, waiting for the pair to enact their plans of stripping them of the power as they had with the Gem of Blood at the start. That the museum noticed their return, and had no one to verify that they were still magical upon their return, was also working in their favor.

"Possibly. All I could gather from his report to you is that it's some form of generator, running on magic. That could be quite literally half of the list, and I won't know until we get it. Assuming the intel's right."

"With Giz? C'mon, Rae, you know better by now," Jinx laughs, going into a somersault over a gap between roofs.

"Yes, I suppose. Still, it's rather difficult to glean anything from secondhand reports of thirdhand rumors. As this current hunt proves."

Raven glares at the woman when a mischievous grin spreads across her face, a bad feeling taking hold in her stomach.

"What're you up to, Jinx?"

"Nothin', Rae. Anyways, when we get this thing, don't you think it's 'bout time we work through some of those other ones? I've been getting better."

At this, Raven can simply nod in agreement.

The pair had been draining the most dangerous items as they got them. But Jinx's lack of experience with the powerful magic and mental strain of astral projection has been a hinderance.

She doesn't critique Jinx on it, as it is only natural that she, born in Azarath and raised in the Temple's meditations, would have more skill and stamina at it. That does not, however, negate the feelings of irritation and guilt that come from her new friend, which Raven can now admit she is, in waves every time they pull away from Nevermore to stop her unconsciousness.

Nor does it negate the building number of items captured and hidden in Nevermore, the team finding them far more quickly than they can work through them.

"You really have. And I worked on a few myself two days ago. There're only the spear and that necklace remaining in wait."

That her psyche had begun to be damaged from the emotions of some of the items resting in her mind was a matter that needn't be said.

"Rae, you don't need to do that," Jinx says, concern rising from her. "Isn't the whole point of my help to make it less straining on you?"

"It is. And your presence is undoubtedly helpful, Jinx. However, as you've gotten better, so have I, and I can take more now."

"And your powers've been off the charts lately," Jinx adds with a grin.

Raven can't deny that the mental exercise _has_ given her powers considerable amplification.

"_Unfortunately, Nightwing and Zatanna also notice this, and have surely begun suspecting things,"_ a voice hisses in the far reaches of her mind.

Raven lifts Jinx into her arms as the pair crosses a particularly large gap, putting the meta down as soon as they reach the other side.

Both of them notice a strange sense of loss when the contact ends.

"You know I could just fly us there," Raven muses, floating next to the panting Jinx.

"That was fun for a while. Started getting lazy. Need to keep in shape," Jinx huffs, taking a brief rest.

Raven shakes her head, an amused smile curling her lips in a manner she is pleased has become accustomed around the hex-caster.

In the course of the weeks since their meeting, the two have _definitely_ become friends, for the feline meta to be able to bring such an expression to be common.

"_Close friends,_" she admits, if only to herself.

The Titans have noticed her lack of presence in the Tower, but thankfully, they are as occupied with hunting the relics down as the pair is.

"_Nightwing, however, is more observant. Both on the job and in my free time, I'm with Jinx increasingly more. Thank Azar Beast Boy hasn't smelled her presence on me."_

The thought brings a sudden blush to her face, another occurrence becoming a norm around the meta, and far less pleasing.

"_Who knows what he'd think? I'd never hear the end of it,"_ she groans.

With Jinx officially authorized to aid Raven in capturing, neutralizing, and/or returning the items to their museums, none having a priority, the two have managed a lot of covered ground together.

The D.M.A.'s vast information network has certainly not hurt things.

"So how do you think this kinda' thing went down?" Jinx asks, taking up her run again.

"Terrible priority put on items that should be locked in a dimensional vault?" Raven deadpans with a raised eyebrow.

"Smartass. I mean the whole Intergang thing. They deal with Apokolips tech. The hell're they doing with a stolen magical artifact?"

"To them, the technology may as well be magic. Money's money, and I don't see them being a group that's picky about how they make it," Raven shrugs.

Jinx begins to respond when Raven raises her hand, pointing down at the street below.

Jinx immediately drops to her knees, Raven grounding herself and mirroring her as both look over the lip of the building.

Down below, just on the inside of an alley, a group of three men are covered in shadows.

The appearance is not all that suspicious, in and of itself.

The fact that one of them is the two-bit thief they followed to the scene is.

"High and low?" Jinx muses, gazing at the men as a silver glow coats them.

"I'd like to get the three of them, if possible," Raven responds with a thoughtful frown.

"Well, we could always just push them out into a bottleneck. You work your way to the other end of the alley, hide in shadows, and then I throw some bolts at them to send them your way?" Jinx ponders.

"Meeting me in a dark alleyway. Yes, I think that experience should put them into an _agreeable_ mood," Raven says with a nod.

Without another word, Raven floats her way back the way they'd come, making sure she's out of the gang's view before crossing the street. As she floats down to the street and crouches down in the shadows of the alley, she lets some of her illusory magic take hold, her body shifting unseen.

As soon as she's sure the appearance of her red eyes are in place, and that her garb looks like something other than the leotard and cloak wrapped around her, she raises her hand to the sky.

To anyone looking, the small spark of black would look like they gazed at the sun and had spots in their eyes.

With her metahuman eyes and her back to the sun, though, Jinx sees the signal perfectly well.

Grinning, she points at the ground near the gang members, her eyes and finger both glowing with pink sparks of light.

With a _snap_, her power unleashes itself and rushes like a missile to the ground below.

When it meets the street, the area immediately impacted explodes in a shower of dust and chunks of concrete.

As the Intergang thief and his buyers look frantically around, Jinx unleashes another hex bolt, this one landing almost at their feet, a spiderweb of cracks taking form in the ground.

The thief reaches into his overcoat and pulls free a staff of some kind, the top hosting a glowing silver sphere.

"Oh, bad move, kiddo," she whispers with a laugh. "_**Gelu Incendia**_," she intones, pointing at the sphere.

A scream sounds as the silver glow coming from it changes, becoming a dark emerald green.

He throws the staff away just as the sphere shatters, green flames springing to life to entirely cover the mouth of the alley.

"_Well, thankfully Raven was right about them not being the brightest,"_ she muses, grinning as the three men turn and run at full speed away from her harmless illusion.

Raven lets a grin show as the three men come running carelessly in her direction.

"_She _is _improving_," she muses happily.

"What the hell's that!?" one of the buyers demands, beginning to wheeze as they make their way down the alley.

"Damned magic, that's what it was!" the other buyer growls. "The hell'd you steal that damn thing from, Jack!?"

Jack, their thief, simply puts more effort into his run, clutching tightly to a pistol as he goes.

Raven doesn't miss the telltale glow within the pistol, power ringing through the air from its wielder's frantic emotions.

Finally, the men reach Raven, and she lets the illusion take a more firm hold, watching them falter as the alley seems to be drained of its sunlight around them.

"_**Tsk tsk, it's bad to take things that don't belong to you,"**_ she says, her doubled voice making them all jump.

A portal takes her, and she materializes in the middle of the three men, all of them looking a different direction.

"_**Especially if you don't know how to handle what might come for it, **_Jack," she adds, getting a startling amount of amusement as the three men dive to the ground.

Smirking, she sends her soul-self out and grabs the pistol from him.

"Wh-What the hell're _you_!?" the less knowledgeable of the buyers gasps, crawling on his back away from her.

"Dead," Jack growls, the first to rise.

He draws a small box from his jacket, and Raven watches in fascination as the box unfolds and transforms into a rather large automatic rifle, the same glow around it as the pistol.

Raven immediately slams her shields into place around her as the gunfire starts, the illusion making them seem red to the men.

What she isn't expecting is the power in each bullet.

"_Clearly we underestimated what he stole,"_ she hisses mentally.

A grunt of effort leaves her throat as one of the buyers moves behind her, her attention focused on not becoming eviscerated by the magical bullets.

When his fist connects with the back of her skull, her concentration slips and her barrier comes crashing down.

Pushing into motion, she rolls to the side mid-fall, the bullets hitting the buyer instead of her.

Jack follows her roll with more gunfire, forcing her into constant motion.

Things take a drastic change when he seems to wizen up and aim ahead of her current roll.

One of the bullets slams into her, sending her rolling on the ground with pain flooding her mind.

Pressing on the bleeding hole in her arm, she jumps away, letting her power of flight give her retreat extra height.

When she comes down, she realizes that her illusion has almost fallen. And yet her eyes remain red, and an alien snarl comes from her lips.

The smirk that Jack wears immediately fades at the sound, his hand visibly shaking.

"_**That was a poor decision**_," she says, wondering at whether her subconscious held to the illusion or if her current outward appearance is more distressing.

Deciding to worry about it later, she raises her hand palm-out at the thief, and black light sparks to life around her skin.

He gives an echoing scream as the gun begins to glow in kind, and he throws the weapon violently away just as it explodes at her feet.

Feeling her wound already knitting together, Raven grabs up the dimly glowing cylinder under her.

"_**Thanks for the business, **__Jack,_" she states, making sure his gaze is frozen on her.

Duly watched, she brings his pistol up and squeezes down, the flare of her soul-self unseen in her closed palm.

When her hand opens once more, the pistol lies in broken metal shards, another glowing cylinder in her hand.

Raven subtly sends another flicker of black light into the air, and Jinx's power washes over the alley, green flames rising up in a blinding circle around her.

With the telltale blackness of her soul-self covered, Raven slides down into the pavement, the flames dying as soon as she rises next to Jinx. By the time Jinx turns around, her illusion is gone, and no small amount of relief forms when her extra eyes and growl go with it.

As the incoherent shouts and screaming came from the alleyway, the women move further onto the roof and out of sight.

Jinx begins to make a quip before she stops cold, eyes widening in shock.

"Holy shit, Rae! You've got a hole in your arm!"

"Observant as ever. I was not expecting the power that these generators would give to his weapons," she adds, handing the cylinders to the meta.

"We gotta' get that shit disinfected, Raven. Just cause it's energy doesn't mean you-"

"I don't get infections," Raven interrupts. "And as you know, I heal quickly. It's barely a graze, so stop worrying."

Despite the initial pain, it really is, too, her skin already almost knitted together in a light pink scar.

Jinx leans close and stares at the wound, frowning in thought.

She nods her head as something meets her scrutiny, and she takes a quick step back.

"Okay, if you say so, I'll believe you. But we need to get your cape cleaned, or bird-brain'll ask questions."

"Fine, I suppose I'll just have to partake in your company longer than the half hour I said I would for dealing with this today," Raven sighs, the exasperation ruined by her smile.

"Tragic," Jinx agrees with her own grin. "Well, since we're going to get that cape washed, we might as well kill two birds with one stone. I gotta' drop some supplies for Giz off at mysterious, undisclosed locations which may or may not be indoors, and have a machine for doing that kind of thing."

Raven's grin fades in an instant, surprise taking her expression instead.

"Are you sure? Knowing what you do and being invited to one of your safehouses are entirely separate things. Won't you-"

"Relax, Rae, I was planning on inviting you over anyway. Now I just have a good incentive for you to agree. Steel's got to know by now who's helping our team, and he hasn't done a thing to disagree."

Raven smiles once again, raising her uninjured arm up in a vague gesture.

"Then lead the way. Does Gizmo know who's helping you?"

"I didn't tell him I was getting help, but I'd be shocked if he doesn't. 'Sides, you were right before. You ended up getting shot because you got information from me that I got from Gizmo finding rumors. If you can actually just get the info from him, then you can check the reports, and we won't be running as blind with someone who actually knows about these things."

With that, Jinx steps into Raven's personal space, a grin forming.

"I spent some energy on that illusion. Mind giving me a lift back?"

Smirking, Raven wraps her arm around the meta's waist.

The sensation returns with a vengeance, almost enough to cause a shiver to run through both women, but they fall into Raven's portal before they can ponder it…  
*************************

As soon as the women walk into the unassuming brownstone home, Raven feels attention focused like a harsh laser on her.

"'ave you stinking lost yer mind!?" Gizmo shrieks, not sure which woman to set his glare on.

Unfazed, Jinx extends her hand to Raven with an impatient gesture.

Sighing, Raven unsnaps her cape and hands it to the meta, who quickly disappears down a hallway with the fabric.

"'Kay, let's try _the hell're _you_ doing here_?" Gizmo reiterates with a slight growl at the empath.

"Standing?" Raven offers with her deadpan, an eyebrow raised at the small inventor.

His gaze moves down the hallway Jinx disappeared into, and with a satisfied nod, he grabs a small box off his table and advances on the Titan.

"Listen, cludge-head, 'cuz I'm asking once. I don't like the answer, then this lets out a frequency that with _your _senses, should be painful as hell at the least."

Raven's eyes narrow, sensing the implication in his words.

"What have you mentioned 'bout Jinx, our team, and our op, and to who'd you spill to?"

Even as her irritation rises, she finds his loyalty to her friend somewhat touching, though she'll never voice the sentiment.

"Nothing and no one, in that order."

At his skeptical glare, she bristles, her body leaning menacingly forward.

"I understand the seriousness of keeping your presences a secret. Further, I _don't_ make promises to friends and not keep them. My friendship and professional dealings with Jinx are strictly off the grid."

"Yeah? Seein' as how you're goin' behind Grayson's back to meet her at all, I ain't puttin' much stock in that promise. Hell, even if you aren't lyin', you're spending so much time with her that he's _gonna'_ notice, especially with the witch around to keep an eye on your every move."

Raven's eyes widen at the use of Nightwing's real name, but remembering who the team works for makes her surprise quickly disappear. The implication of Zatanna's purpose with the Titans, something she'd figured out after a few days in her presence, is far less impressive of a deduction.

"Even were we not friends, a relationship I don't have enough of to jeopardize freely, what benefit would betrayal gain me? At best, I end up pissing Mr. Bones off for compromising an operation and being held in a cell, where even my _robust _physiology may not be able to hold up for long periods of time with him."

Gizmo's eyes widen at that, his mouth gaping in surprise.

"How the-"

"At worst, I end up getting my friend killed, before I'm then hunted down by a group made for catching people like myself and killed by them in retribution," Raven continues. "Betrayal would make no sense. As for my… _insubordination_… what I do in my free time is none of Nightwing's concern, just the same as how I get the items so idiotically lost is not his concern."

"Humans don't hafta make sense," the inventor argues. "And following orders is what you guys're all about, otherwise there's no way that an alien princess or a princess of Hell'd listen to someone with all the bark of Batman without anywhere near the bite that keeps the League in line around him."

His comment brings Raven's heart rate skyrocketing as she pales. Settling on her usual snark, she recovers quickly with a raised eyebrow.

"I've nothing to do with Hell. At least, not in any way familiar with this dimension. Nobody but the Church, League, and Titans should know about that… Does Jinx know?"

"The number Jinx's callin', Rachel Roth? Knowing the name made it pretty easy to make the connections. And hell no, I ain't tellin' her. If it comes from me that she shouldn't trust you, she'll just think I'm bein' a protective older brother or some shit."

Raven lets out an unwilling sigh of relief, her mask fading for a brief moment.

"I can't satisfy your suspicions, Gizmo. All I can do is say that I've no intention of endangering your organization as a whole, and everything that entails, nor am I tricking Jinx with my aid in her work nor our friendship. Whether you believe me or not is, realistically, something I have no effect on."

Gizmo stares silently at her for a small eternity, eyes seeming to scrutinize her down to her soul.

Finally, his expression eases, and he gives a terse nod before throwing the box behind himself.

It bounces harmlessly on the floor, and Raven finds herself surprised when no pain emanates when the button presses against the floor.

Instead, a mechanical whirring sounds, and a smug grin forms on his face.

"Camera set up in the roof tiles, set to record to a server. I needed to make sure that Jinx ain't braindead trustin' you, and this makes sure if we ever get takin' down, you come with us when the server uploads all files on it to a program I set up."

The threat doesn't faze Raven in the slightest, more impressed at his ability to trick her than the potential blackmail.

Before she can respond, Jinx appears in the room again, taking the scene in.

"No one's dead, no screaming, and Giz doesn't have a detonator in his hand."

She steps up to Raven's side and pulls her into a hug, grinning widely as the empath tenses.

"Welcome to the family, Rae."

Raven winces as the unfamiliar sensation once again takes hold in her mind, quickly making her blood feel like it's alight with energy.

The sensation quickly vanishes when the meta lets her go, a frown almost forming on the empath's face.

Jinx raises her cape in front of her, her grin even wider.

"Turns out washing it wasn't necessary. Some detergent and some heavy scrubbing got that right out."

With a nod, Raven reattaches her cape, feeling her communicator vibrate in her pocket as she does.

With a sigh, she opens it to read over the alert.

"Duty calls. Those cylinders aren't artifacts on the list, but they were probably made from a few. I think that, as Gizmo pointed out, Nightwing's going to notice my continued absences from the Tower. I think that we should stay out of touch for a few days. I'll convince them they'd be better off not inquiring, and you can try to analyze what those things can do in the meantime. Agreed?"

"You promise to call the next time you've got free time, and I'm all for that," Jinx responds.

With a smile, Raven nods before exiting their base through a portal, not risking being seen walking anywhere near their safehouse.

As she goes, she fails to notice Jinx's wistful expression at her leaving, nor Gizmo's cocky smirk aimed at the metahuman. She does, however, notice her own blush, and the not unpleasant sensation still coursing through her...  
****************************

_Author's Notes_:

Gelu Incendia- Latin for "Cold Fire".

Mr. Bones is the head of the D.E.O., and is essentially a living radioactive skeleton.

I seem to be making these chapters progressively longer. Sorry about that, to those who prefer short chunks at a time. Be sure as always to let me know your thoughts, be they positive or not. See you next time!


	13. Transition

Transition

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven sits at the table, fighting hard to keep a frown from her face.

A week without Jinx has left her in a distressingly bad mood, and the conference summons from their leader after their training has certainly not improved it. Nor has the subject of said meeting.

"-I mean, if I'm wrong, tell me I'm wrong, Raven. You've managed a ton of retrievals, but without figuring out who's pulling the strings, more are just going to keep vanishing. Clearly, you're getting intel from somewhere, and I'd prefer to know where, and how it's possible these people know so much without knowing the whole story. You should take one of us with you, at least, so we can cover your back. Has being on your own, following whatever mysterious _leads_ you have that you can't share, gotten you anywhere?" Nightwing demands, exhaustion clear in his voice.

Raven, exhausted herself from the investigations she and Jinx have conducted, is sympathetic to her leader.

On the matter of him suggesting she needs to be leashed, as it were, not so much.

"Not to pick sides here, but he's kinda' right, Rae," Cyborg interjects.

Her slight glare has him raising his hands in surrender, a disarming grin on his face.

"Not what I meant. You've gotten a lot of items crossed off that list, but we don't know nothin' about _how_ you're gettin' 'em. We could get more, faster, if ya' at least threw us a bone here, girl."

"That's all I'm saying, Raven," Nightwing adds. "Look, we know you enough to know that if you won't tell us how you're coming upon these leads consistently, then it can't be something good."

"I could take a few guesses," Zatanna mutters, having sat for the last half hour of pointless inquisition in irritated silence.

Raven raises an eyebrow at that, an amused smirk forming.

That the Titans had become used to the expression on her face recently speaks volumes to how much her friend has rubbed off on her, and she briefly ponders whether it is something to push away.

"_Their reactions are amusing enough alone to let it go,_" she muses, taking a guilty pleasure in the curiosity and discomfort coming from her friends.

"Please, share with the class, Zatanna," she states, fighting to keep her smirk from growing at the patch of red brought out on the sorceress's face.

"Alright, look, I love a catfight much as the next guy, but I'm tired of this," Beast Boy says, glaring at the women. "You two've been passive aggressive since she got here, and I just don' get it."

"Friend Beast Boy is correct," Starfire adds. "The… discomfort… that comes from you two being incapable of civilly remaining in the same area as the other is making the tension nearly unbearable. Why do you two hate each other so?"

Raven meets Zatanna's eyes, an eyebrow raised in silent question.

Their concern is certainly not misplaced, given the open antagonism they'd mutually agreed to deal with since Raven's initial argument. It was uncharacteristic of her to openly antagonize someone other than a villain, undoubtedly making the Titans remember Tara's brief stint with their group.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be all that bad," Cyborg reasons.

Nightwing visibly winces, drawing both sorceresses' attentions.

"Going to weigh in too, Dick?" Zatanna asks with a perfectly icy tone.

"Oh, hell no, I'm staying out of this. Long as you two aren't on jobs together, I'm perfectly comfortable not opening _that _Pandora's Box," he states.

"You know of the cause for the tension, Love Richard?" Starfire inquires with a frown.

"Enough to know better than to get involved in it. We're big girls, we can handle it ourselves," Zatanna states with a hint of a snarl.

"Which is kinda' the problem," Beast Boy cuts in. "You two should be the best chance we got at hunting all this stuff down. If you're arguing all the time, that means you aren't working together on some spell or something that could just, like, make them glow on a map or somethin'."

Raven and Zatanna once again meet with mirrored glares, Raven's own showing clear signs of her exhaustion.

Finally, Zatanna gives an audible sigh, putting her head in her hands before quickly shaking them through her hair.

"Look, these kinds of things have a very niche information network connected to them. My contacts haven't gotten me _nearly_ the results that yours have. It's frustrating," she admits.

Raven's eyes widen in surprise, temporarily forgetting her irritation as Zatanna's own tiredness makes itself known.

"I… It isn't that I hate you, or anything, not really," Raven finally sighs. "Look, we met under bad circumstances, and you undoubtedly made the already terrible situation that much more dangerous and harder on everyone based on preconceptions and prejudices."

Bristling, Zatanna's eyes narrow to their former glare, her mouth opening to growl at her.

"I didn't give you much thought, since then, if I'm honest. Since I gathered the Titans together and gotten accustomed to this dimension, I accepted that I went about my introduction the wrong way. But then you showed up, basically telling us that some of the most dangerous items in the entire reality were stolen from some rudimentary security glass in museums all over the world instead of being guarded in the Tower of Fate, or some other transdimensional stronghold. All the… _negativity_… of that initial encounter came flooding back, and I can admit that it's not fair to you."

When she finishes, she finds all of them staring at her in shock, her own mind reeling at the bout of honesty, and the grudge she'd thought dead and buried.

"Whoa… Okay, I gotta' ask for that story. I didn't think you _did_ grudges, Rae," Beast Boy finally says, breaking the silence.

Zatanna takes in the story, shocked by the honesty as everyone else. And yet, her suspicions cannot seem to leave her mind.

For all intents and purposes, through both words and actions, the Titan had more than proven her wrong in her assumption about her demonic heritage making her a threat.

And yet…

And yet a cloud seems to take hold of her mind, making her thoughts become unfocused.

She realizes she has no reason to be suspicious of the demon halfling, and yet, the suspicions refuse to leave her.

And her instincts were wrong rarely enough that she knows better than to question them, regardless of how odd their reactions are.

The warning bells her mind sends her are utterly obscured by fog, going utterly ignored.

Outwardly, she sits up straight, meeting Raven's gaze once more.

"Alright, look, we don't have to like each other, but we should at least agree to be civil," the sorceress finally sighs, her mind and words disconnected. "They're right, we'll do better working together. I agree I screwed up, and you agree that I wasn't entirely in the wrong. Deal?"

After much consideration, Raven's head slowly nods, her body visibly relaxing.

"Now, let's move past this, so we can at least figure out what's going on with all these robberies. My original point still stands, Raven, and I can't apologize for bringing it up. If _my_ contacts, covering multiple planets and planes of reality, aren't as helpful as yours, there are only so many possible explanations."

Raven ponders silently to herself, her own warning bells going off, and not being nearly as quiet as Zatanna's. Something about the sorceress seems _off_, yet Raven's usually impeccable intuition gives her nothing to work with.

"My sources are of questionable character, but their intel is always on the mark," she finally states, giving the Titans nothing to work with.

"How _questionable_?" Nightwing asks with a slight glare.

"Questionable enough. Zatanna is raising a point of exactly _why_ I go to such sources; the less savory magic users are usually the most informed about items of a dangerous nature."

Raven finds herself inwardly amazed at how easy the lie slips from her, wondering if Jinx perhaps had a point about her potential at subterfuge.

"You aren't offerin' get outta jail free cards to psychos, are ya, Rae?" Cyborg asks, turning slightly pale at the thought.

"Nothing of the sort," she snorts dismissively. "I'm not talking of people like Mumbo Jumbo or Blood's cultists. They give me information, and in exchange, I trade them a book, or a contact they're interested in if the other party agrees, or some knickknacks I've acquired over the years, but nothing such as favors or free reign. There are dangers, of course, but I would say that the results have made me unable to question my methods. But I will focus more on finding those who would give me information on who's stealing rather than where stolen things are, from now on," she adds.

"Can you give us even one name to work with, Raven?" Nightwing sighs.

"They aren't the kind of people you find in a phone book, Richard."

That they believe she has a network of underground black magicians and creatures speaks volumes, but Raven chooses not to dwell on it too much.

"Is all this why ya' haven' been around the Tower as much?" Beast Boy asks, causing the empath to fight against a wince of her own.

"No. That is a… as you pointed out, our antagonism was uncomfortable to you all. I apologize for that. But as an empath, I was not unaffected, either, and so I have taken to removing myself from it as I can. It will hopefully become better now," she adds, giving them no indication of her enjoyment of said outings.

"Alright," Nightwing finally sighs. "I don't like it. _Really_ don't like it, Raven. But as long as you and Zee can be civil and work on some better leads for the rest of us, you're correct about being unable to argue with the results."

The sorceresses nod, the tension finally leaving the room.

"Alright. Everyone, I think we _all _need some R&R. It's been almost two months non-stop on this case, and even the criminals have been laying low recently, a point saying that whoever's doing all this is a heavy hitter, if nothing else. Everyone, spend the day relaxing and catching up on much-needed rest. That's an order," Nightwing adds as he rises from his seat.

Everyone releases a sigh of relief, Starfire floating quickly behind her lover as he leaves the room.

"I'm gonna' go fix up my baby. Plasmus did a serious number on the paintjob last week," Cyborg says, jumping to his feet.

Sighing, Zatanna slowly rises from her own chair, her tophat popping into existence in her palm with a burst of smoke.

"I got a show I suddenly don't need to cancel in Vegas. Either of you want to come?" she asks.

"Seriously? Dude, I'm all for that!" Beast Boy shouts.

Jinx's previous statement comes to Raven's mind, and a smile takes hold before she can stop it.

"I have standing plans, actually. I apologize, again. Hopefully we can move past everything now that it's aired."

With that, she floats out of the room, missing Zatanna's suspicious glare.

As soon as she shuts her door, Rachel Roth's cell phone leaves her pocket, fingers dancing quickly over the numbers...  
****************************

Raven sits on a barstool, the cushion doing little to comfort her in the obnoxious beat flooding the club.

"_Dear Azar, why'd I agree to _here_?" _Raven groans mentally, fighting against a growing headache.

And then, Jinx appears on the booth next to her, a grin on her lips.

A part of her mind refuses to allow her focus to go anywhere but on the meta's clothes, a combination of leather skirt and sleeveless blouse.

"_Because she's very persuasive when she wants to be,_" a voice in her mind offers helpfully, Raven refusing to acknowledge the blush burning away on her face.

"Hey there. What's someone so gorgeous doin' sittin' alone at a bar?" Jinx asks in way of greeting.

Raven briefly senses a pressure in the back of her head, a wave of panic going through her before she recognizes its source as internal. And annoying, even as her emotion is sturdy in its persistence.

"Feeling a lot less lonely, now," she says, both women's faces turning bright scarlet.

"That a fact?" Jinx asks, recovering quickly.

"Undoubtedly," Raven remarks with a smile.

"Two Ultimate Mudslides," Jinx says to the bartender eyeing the two.

In short order, two glasses slide their way, Raven glaring suspiciously at what, for all intents and purposes, looks like a milkshake with chocolate running through it.

"Alright, I know you're a huge tea fiend, so I figure we gotta' start somewhere. Try it. I almost guarantee you'll like it," Jinx says before taking a slow pull on her own.

Raven tentatively picks her glass up and brings it to her lips.

Throwing caution to the wind, she takes a decent-sized drink of it.

Her face immediately contorts as the vodka burns her throat. The chocolate and cream takes over, then, quickly easing the sensation.

"This is not a milkshake," she deadpans, staring contemplatively at the glass.

"As you had no doubt figured out already," Jinx laughs. "Other than the fact that it tastes different from what it looks, what do you think?"

"It… is not terrible," Raven finally decides.

Frowning in thought, she takes another drink, keeping it sitting for her taste buds to analyze before swallowing. With the slower flow, the alcohol burns considerably less, the taste greatly overpowering the booze.

"It is quite good."

Smiling from ear to ear, Jinx finishes her own off in two drafts, a dark red color staining her cheeks and neck.

"Told you. Certainly hits the sweet tooth, don't it?"

"I really must work on your grammar," Raven sighs before finishing her glass.

"I can talk just fine, Rae, thanks," she snarks. "Clearly one drink wasn't enough, if you're thinking of things that mundane."

"You can buy me as many drinks as you want, Jinx, but my physiology makes it a futile endeavor," Raven says with a shrug, not letting her amusement show.

"Alright, let's test that. Hey, a Blind Russian for my friend and an Angel's Lips for me," she calls to the bartender, receiving an amused smirk from him. "I like sweets. Sue me," she adds with a slight growl.

Shrugging, the man goes to work on the drinks, Jinx turning to meet Raven's stoic stare.

"_Think she'd prefer demon's lips?" _Raven's emotional avatar ponders, causing her blush to darken.

Two more drinks appear before them, and Jinx smirks at her, tapping a finger to the tip of her glass.

"Sweet enough to not burn your mouth off, but with enough booze in it that I'll know if you're messin' with me. Go on, then," she laughs.

Her mirth vanishes when Raven shrugs and downs half the drink, barely even wincing as the alcohol takes hold in her system.

"You are correct, that is _quite_ good. I still prefer my tea, though. Either way, I'm just as likely to get drunk," she adds, grinning at the meta.

"Well that'll make tonight more interestin'," she finally says, tipping her own drink to her lips before Raven can comment on it.

When she finishes the drink, Jinx's face is a shade of red similar to Raven's.

"Not much point boozin' you up if it isn't going to make the club any better for you. I didn't count on that…"

Raven's eyes widen, a warm smile forming as she finishes her drink.

"You could have perhaps saved yourself the stress if you had given me the chance to offer another option," she muses.

"I… well, guess it's irrelevant."

Her dejected voice quickly fades as her grin reforms, her cheeks gradually losing their color.

"Now, then, much as I want to ever-broaden your horizons, it looks like my plan to loosen you up so you can enjoy our outing is not going to happen. But I'm nothing if not determined. I _did_ pick this place for a reason. So… care to dance?"

Raven notices the slight nervousness in the meta and finds herself wondering at its cause.

"If you could call this _music_," Raven finally responds. "Really, Jinx? A _club_? Even if the alcohol _did_ loosen me up, I'm an empath. You had to know the kinds of things that would be forcing their way into my brain."

Laughing, the meta grabs her wrist and pulls her to her feet.

"Yep, a club. If the things you're talkin' about are what it'll take to make you loosen up, then the booze wasn't needed anyway. 'Sides, nobody's going to think that pink hair extensions are out of place, and there's not a chance that we're going to be recognized in here. Especially not with you dressed so… _well_ for the occasion," she adds, letting a hungry gaze drag up to the empath's ever-blushing face.

She had decided, when Jinx had told her unquestionably where they were going to meet, to dig into the box in the back of her closet. Until meeting Jinx, it had gone largely ignored and forgotten save for dumping new pieces she bought to appease Kori on their forced shopping outings into it.

With her increasing social visits with Jinx, she has decided to add considerably to her wardrobe choices since then, if for no other reason than that her uniform would undoubtedly draw attention to the pair.

For this evening, she had decided to go with a pair of tight black jeans. What would surely convince people that it was not the same person who frequently flew above their city protecting the citizens, though, was her shirt.

It is a purple, reflective material, coming down to just barely cover the tops of her hips. Some very rarely-seen jewelry adorned her as well, a thin silver chain holding a metal ankh just below the shirt's neckline and a thin band of silver covering the base of her right thumb, index, and middle finger each.

A simple illusion also shifts her features, making her skin appear to any but herself and Jinx to be a slightly mocha shade. The bluish shade to her hair is turned entirely black beneath the harsh club lights.

More importantly, her chakra gem, a sure giveaway of her identity, appears to not exist at all, and her usually bright purple eyes are colored a warm, intelligent shade of brown.

"Seriously, Rae, if this is the response, I'm going to drag you to clubs more often. You look… I mean, _damn_…"

"Thank you," Raven responds, sure her entire head is red at this point.

Raven gasps as Jinx pulls her off-balance, her body almost falling into her as she begins swaying to the music.

"Save your thanks for later," Jinx purrs, her breath burning hot on Raven's ear.

A shiver of unknown origin ripples its way through the empath, her blush and gaze both taking on a darker shade.

Her amorous emotion takes the distraction as a perfect opportunity to assert itself once more, and her grin visibly changes in nature.

Jinx shivers this time, not having any issues with knowing its cause.

The two quickly find their stride in the music, Raven shocking the meta with how quickly she begins matching her movements.

Raven recognizes the foothold she's given to her emotions. The sensations running through her, though, make her by far less inclined to see it as anything negative.

The sensations quickly intensify for both women, the heat and throbbing beat vibrating the floor working their way through the two.

Before either recognizes the time spent pressing against each other, they find themselves making their way into the cool night's air.

Their banter is light as they walk towards Jinx's apartment, nowhere near ready or willing for the night to end.

"So, I mean, really, what the hell, Rae?" Jinx complains as they take residence on the meta's couch. "It just ain't fair that you have the cool powers _and_ you don't get smashed."

Laughing, Raven fails to react as Jinx leans against her side, the sensation that runs through her refusing to let her argue against her.

"I told you I have a strange physiology. Alcohol simply doesn't inhibit my self-control or level of comfort… I suppose if I drank enough of it, as in a distillery, I could become inebriated, but my metabolism simply works faster than any stimulant. If it makes you feel better, I also can't use painkillers."

"Okay, feel a little better, I guess, though that undoubtedly sucks. So… wait. _Nothing_ psychoactive works on you?"

"I've never gone shopping around to test the limits, but that is correct," Raven agrees, not understanding Jinx's large grin.

"Does that make me like a fine liquor? 'Cause I definitely lower your inhibitions and make you less repressed," the meta laughs.

Raven finds her face feeling as though it has lit on fire, finding that the analogy is not inaccurate.

"Well, since _you_ are drunk and likely won't remember much anyway, I suppose there's no harm in admitting you aren't wrong," the empath muses.

"_Ha_! Don' count on it, Rae. My metabolism's fast, too. Metahuman, remember? Still, you might be right. I don't wanna' run the risk of forgetting that kinda' leverage over you. Luckily, I know a sure-fire way to remember tonight," she laughs, slightly slurring her speech even as the alcohol burns its way out of her.

"Oh? And what would this mythical solution be?" Raven asks with a smirk and upraised brow.

In response, Jinx turns to face her, both of them quickly resembling tomatoes as their eyes remain locked.

Without warning, Jinx's hand fists in Raven's hair, and she leans forward, the kiss sending Raven's emotions and senses ablaze…  
**************************

_Author's Notes_:

For a reference of what Raven's wearing, I just went with a reference image of what she looks like when attending high school as Rachel Roth. Also, I'm not exactly an alcohol drinker, so for the scene, I basically went with the few that I know of off the top of my head that are sweet in nature.

I had quite a bit of fun writing this scene, once again with the entire scene spawned from the idea of Zatanna and Raven's confrontation and Jinx trying to loosen Raven up. Whether you liked the scene or not, be sure to let me know and why. See you next time!


	14. Not So Complex

Not So Complex

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven finds herself drowning in the sensations attacking her mind.

The feel of Jinx's lips is incredibly soft against her own, the sensation unlike any she's felt before.

Hints of the alcohol mix with the herbs in her last drink of the night, forming an interesting flavor hitting her.

Jinx's hand loosens in her hair, moving down to gently cup her neck as she presses more into the kiss.

The moan is what wakes Raven up. The sound is relatively quiet, swallowed between their lips, and its origin is a mystery.

But it is enough to bring her back to reality, and with unwilling slowness, she gently pushes on Jinx's shoulders.

The two separate, the noises of their gasping breaths the only sound in the small apartment.

Something in Raven's expression sets Jinx on edge.

Her confusion over her reaction, as well as the stress of finally realizing how much her control has slipped over the evening, is causing an internal war within the empath's mind.

Jinx seems to read something into her reaction that doesn't exist, further confusing Raven as the scent of her regret fills the air.

"Rae, I'm so sorry. I thought… Well, it's pretty obvious what I thought, I guess," the meta sighs, pulling away from her.

"You did nothing wrong," Raven argues, eyeing her with obvious bafflement.

Her mind goes over the sensations, and her blush becomes even darker.

"Actually, I'd say you did something very _right_."

Jinx relaxes somewhat at that, no longer looking ready to bolt.

Her hand tentatively reaches out to rest on Raven's side, the sensation sending shivers through the empath.

"Then why do you look so worried? It's just, you were sending some pretty damn clear signals at the club, and for a while now, really, and I just figured-"

"Calm, Jinx," Raven sighs, gently grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "I… there is nothing _wrong_, per se."

"Look, I planned on making a move tonight," Jinx admits. "I was planning on doing it on the way from the club, to give you the option to just turn around and leave, but-"

Raven's mind whirls at the sensations overtaking her.

Things begin coming into focus, the denial leading to her ignorance of her own and Jinx's actions both gone. And with its absence, a bright blush forms as her mind connects several things at once.

Her blush brightens when she ponders how she had gone almost a month reacting to Jinx's obvious flirts with her own, while never really considering things.

"Jinx, calm down. Take a brea-"

"I should've waited on this. I mean, it hasn't even been-"

"_Nicole_," Raven interrupts, the use of her first name shocking Jinx into silence, "calm down and just listen, okay?"

Jinx just nods, not liking her sudden vulnerability.

"My confusion is due to my assumption that I was heterosexual being brought into clear question. I mean, admittedly, I never really spent too much effort _pondering_ on it, but it is still surprising."

A smile forms on her lips as she begins circling her thumb on the back of the meta's hand.

"My emotions are… _volatile_, and as you said, you unleash them from my careful control. The stress you were sensing was not over you kissing me, at least not directly. I have enjoyed our friendship immensely, but it _has _had consequences on my psyche that are not entirely positive."

Jinx's retort is cut off by Raven's warning glare, her blush and the buzz slowly working its way out of her system.

"You have to understand that I have made it a natural part of my mentality that my emotions are to be controlled, not expressed. The ease with which you change that is… frightening. You are correct that I have been sending you signals, but due to how I have handled myself from a young age, I have a fair bit of repression to deal with, and so it went mostly unacknowledged by myself."

"Okay, let me interrupt for a sec, okay, Rae?"

Raven tentatively nods, and Jinx squeezes her hand back.

"You know I like you, right?"

At her nod, she continues, "And you like me, right?"

Raven considers this, wondering on her slip of control. Even with her lack of attention, surface emotions were the only ones capable of wresting as much control as she had allowed throughout the evening.

With that thought, she gives a nod, frowning when Jinx simply stares inquisitively at her, obviously wanting something more satisfactory.

"I do," she replies quietly, Jinx's ears straining to hear her.

"Alright. Look, I get it, at least objectively. I liked Cy, and I had a huge crush on Kid Flash. I also have been pretty blatantly flirting with you since that night at the Angelique, and it's gotten a bit more serious over the last few weeks of us hanging out. I realized a bit back that I've gotten kinda' attached to you, Raven, if we're being honest here. Ergo, I figured out I'm bisexual. Really, it doesn't need to be complex. You can't exactly control who you like, even with someone with control issues such as yourself," she says with a shrug.

Raven's mind turns the statement over, looking for ways to argue the logic.

When she finds none, she gives an audible sigh before releasing her hand.

"That logic makes sense. So, I suppose I must first apologize for causing both of us undue stress after such an enjoyable evening."

Jinx returns to her previous position then, both of them shivering at the renewed contact.

"So, what's this mean? I mean, I ain't all for the labels and crap, so if whatever this is ain't a big deal-"

"I think we should work out details such as that later," Raven remarks.

"So, only one thing left to question, then," Jinx responds, smiling at the answering raised brow.

"And that is…?"

"You like me, I like you, we both enjoyed that kiss and want to put off defining things to do more of that… So what're we still doing talking?"

Smirking, Raven leans forward, her own hand sliding into the meta's thick locks.

"That's a very good question."

The empath initiates the next kiss, the second in many for the night...  
****************************

"Are you sure you have to go?" Jinx asks, batting her eyes at Raven.

The Titan begins straightening out her shirt before realizing it's the least obvious sign of the past hours.

Letting it go, she runs her hand through Jinx's hair, fascinated by the ripple that works its way through the woman's body in response.

"I would prefer to say no, but I cannot," Raven sighs.

"Didn't you say Nightwing gave you the night off?" Jinx whines, letting her head rest on the empath's shoulder.

"Yes, and I explained my continued absences to him, as well. But he believes the reason behind my absences has been resolved, which it has certainly not, much as I would like for it to be so."

At that, Jinx's mirth vanishes, remembering the brief pause in their play when something clearly bothersome had occurred to her.

She had clearly held back details on what had caused the confrontation with the witch in the first place, but it had not stopped her from giving her enough to get the gist.

She briefly ponders getting Gizmo to look into it, before realizing that doing so would go against Raven's wishes, and would start her down the same path she had avoided with Kid Flash.

"So, you really think that she's… what? Going to be stalking you? I mean, she said that you two should work together, right?"

Raven nods, a frown of thought forming. Not liking the sight of it, Jinx runs her hand up and down her back, smiling when her eyes close and her frown slips away with a contented sigh.

"I do not know. She did not lie when she said that… but something isn't right. I can't explain it, but I've learned to listen to my instincts. And my instincts are telling me to be even more wary of Zatanna than I was before we had it out."

"Would she be able to lie to your face?" Jinx ponders aloud. "I mean, you've got the whole empath thing going, but you told me you don't mess with your telepathy. She's got a number of years on you. Could she, I dunno, _mask_ herself like you did, but a lot more literally?"

"I… don't know. The thought never occurred to me," Raven says as worry ripples through her. "I didn't sense anything beyond the usual magic that the woman exudes, but if she were to go so far as to hide her emotions with a spell, who knows _what _she could hide from me?"

Suddenly, Raven shakes her head and turns to Jinx, giving her another kiss.

She pulls away far too quickly for Jinx's liking, and begins to rise from the couch.

"At any rate, Nightwing will be paying attention now, and if I come up with another excuse for my absences, he will question the first reason and begin to suspect things."

"Yeah, 'bout that… You said the whole thing started over where your intel's coming from."

Raven's eyes widen, a bemused expression coloring her face.

"Surely you don't think-"

"Not a chance," Jinx interrupts dismissively. "But I wanna' know what you _did_ tell him. C'mon, you can't blame me for being curious. You said you'd ensure they won't ask about it again. So…?"

Relaxing, Raven smiles again, this time a chuckle shaking her form.

"I told them that my intel is coming from various shadowy underworld types who are versed in the magical artifacts niche. I would find their ease of accepting I have such an information network of contacts disturbing, were I not so entertained by it."

"Seriously!? An' Nightwing didn't go all _holier than thou_ on you?"

"He tried," the empath responds with a shrug. "I appealed to his logic. After all, can he really complain about where I'm finding the information to track the items down, so long as I don't aid in crimes myself and continue retrieving items?"

A thought occurs to Jinx, and Raven stares in confusion at her as she begins to shake with laughter.

"Okay, here's some food for thought. What d'you think'd piss 'im off more? The underground network of magic users or your girlfriend's merc group that had to do the League's job for them?"

Raven smiles at that, for more than one reason.

The way the meta instantly blushes nearly neon pink and sheepishly casts her gaze to the ground is definitely one of them.

"Girlfriend. I like the sound of that. And I think that Nightwing would likely be as unhappy about my association either way, especially were he to find out said group contains an ex-Titan."

"Guess that solves the whole labels thing. I like it, too," the meta adds, her relief obvious, before stealing another kiss. "Are you _sure_ you have to go? I can make insubordination worth your while," she adds with a goofy wag of her eyebrows.

"Of which I have no doubt. But yes, unfortunately, I am sure. Zatanna has a disturbing control over him, and if she returns from Vegas before I'm present, she may make a point of asking if he knows what my plans for the evening were. And it would not take him too long to find the club, which would mean he would find you. And that would make a repeat of tonight much more difficult to arrange."

"You don't think-"

"Nothing indicates it. But if she can mask her emotions from me, as I said, who the hell knows what else she can do?"

"I mean, she'd have to be incredibly confident or _really_ stupid to piss the Tamaranian off," Jinx adds.

"Well, at any rate, as of now I've no idea beyond speculation on what may have tripped my senses. If I start making assumptions, I may miss something obvious."

Sighing, Raven begins to fall into her portal, leaning forward and giving her girlfriend another kiss.

"I shall see you soon, Jinx."

Jinx simply nods, a content smile on her face as the Titan vanishes, materializing noiselessly in her own room the next second.

Feeling frantic energy coursing through her, she quickly changes into by far less attention-grabbing clothes and heads towards the kitchen.

She is surprised to find Starfire, Nightwing, and Cyborg all gathered at the table, food sitting before them.

"Yo, Rae, where- whoa, haven't seen _that_ in a long time!" the half-machine shouts.

Only then does Raven notice the grin adorning her lips, finding that the trio's negative reactions to it are not nearly enough to wipe it away.

"I… had a good day," she states as she goes about preparing her tea.

The Titans look amongst themselves, the smile seeming entirely creepy on the woman. And yet, it's undoubtedly a good thing, especially given the mood she had been in during their meeting almost five hours ago.

They don't know what the cause for the rare good mood was for the psychic, but they knew better than to question or interfere with what was possibly a very temporary moment.

Cyborg's mechanical eye, though, doesn't miss the slight bruising on her lips, or the barely-there blush coloring her grey cheeks. He fights against his grin, deciding not to bring her down from her evening.

Kori, on the other hand, has no such understanding of subtlety.

"Do tell! What manner of enjoyment did you partake in, friend Raven?" Starfire asks, failing to notice the men's winces.

"I found some rather interesting books in an old shop. They were… most informative," she lies.

"What were they informative on?" the alien inquires further with a large grin.

"Fables, mostly. Old interactions between men and gods, that kind of thing. Quite interesting reads, when you have some history books to cross-reference them with," she says, her teammates not knowing said books belonged in her library for years.

With that, she finishes making her tea, floating towards the door with a large cup in hand.

Cyborg rises from his chair, his plates cleaned off.

"That was some good eats! I gotta' go get some more work done. No idea _how_ my engine got so messed up. Have a good night, y'all!" he says in way of good-bye.

The half-machine finds Raven leaning against the wall down the hallway, her cup pressed to her lips while she raises a brow at him.

"You did not believe my statement," she says as he reaches her.

"You got lipstick on your neck," he comments, grinning as her hand flies up in search of the mark.

"Damn."

"Barely there. Wing and Star probably didn't notice it. Enhanced vision," he clarifies, tapping the metal on his skull. "So… who's the lucky girl?"

Raven notices the emotions coming from the man, his amusement making her good mood dwindle somewhat.

"You seem to have your own suspicions," she deadpans, pulling another sip from her tea.

"Maybe. Got my hands on one of the relics the other day. Just some low-time Intergang guy, got lucky and managed to swipe it when a guy dropped it running away from something. He said that he's thinkin' of just giving up, cause this is the second time someone stole his profit margin from 'im. Had a real… interesting… description of who got the first item, and said that one of his buyers thought they saw some punk chick on the roofs."

Raven pales at that, realizing that their confidence had been misplaced.

"And yet you didn't say anything to Nightwing about this supposed duo running around helping us with our job earlier," she remarks, unable to keep a slight tremor out of her voice.

Cyborg shrugs, leaning against the wall opposite her.

"Like you said, we can't be picky with methods on this. Things didn't make enough sense to bring it up while everyone was already lookin' keyed up for a fight between you two to break out."

"Well, I suppose if we ever run into this team, we'll have to thank them for their aid," Raven remarks nonchalantly. "Intergang isn't made up of the most stable individuals. Perhaps he was under the negative effects of magic and alien technology mixing poorly on his person?"

"Uh-huh. Well, it ain't like they're doin' somethin' we don't, so I guess the only real question is what they're doing with the mojo?"

"Were I to speculate on such things, I suspect that there are items that are sitting unnoticed to have returned to the museums. We have, after all, been focusing only on the stolen items, and not checking if other groups have anonymously aided us," Raven muses, her deadpan back in place.

"Well, I guess we'll just never know," Cyborg says with a shrug.

Grinning, he begins heading down the hallway, stopping at the turn.

"And Rae? I'm happy for you. Even if it isn't what I'm thinking it is, I'm glad you finally found someone to hang out with outside of the Titans. If anyone deserves to loosen up and enjoy life a bit, it'd be a pretty close fight between you and our unsleeping leader."

Raven smiles at this, the warmth in her expression momentarily startling the man.

"It would not… bother you?"

"You kiddin'? I'm just glad that whoever she is has lips, which means it ain't scaled," he laughs, almost doubling over at her blush.

"I was _fifteen_. And he wasn't scaled in our initial encounters," she says, fighting against her blush.

"Either way, I think it's good for ya'," he laughs. "I'll look forward ta' meetin' her. You should give the team a warning, though, if you ever run into them," he continues. "If Nightwing or the League finds out that someone may or may not be moonlighting, they might think that the person isn't throwing everything they have as a mystic into the heist investigation. They'd be wrong, but it still wouldn't go over well."

Raven's smile grows at his concern.

"Thank you… I'm sure they could use the caution. Apparently they aren't very careful for a team wishing to stay anonymous… And Cy?"

"Yeah?" he asks, frowning at the tone in her voice.

"My new friend, who may or may not have good reason to not want me bringing her home to meet the family, so to speak… I and she would both theoretically appreciate it not reaching Nightwing or Zatanna."

"If you think she's got a good reason, I ain't gonna' say anything," he says, grinning as he heads down towards the garage and utterly missing the return of Raven's smile...  
****************************

_Author's Notes_:

I was a bit mixed while writing this one, so I'm really looking forward to what the readers think on this. Let me know your thoughts, good or bad. See you next time!


	15. Shift

Shift

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

_Warnings: Violence / Language_

_1 month later..._

"Hello?" Raven growls, her cell phone's ringing pulling her from her calm sleep.

"Hey, beautiful, are you free?" Jinx's voice sounds.

Raven sits up, frowning at her clock.

"_How did I forget to set my alarm?"_ she questions, running a hand through her mussed hair.

"Miss me already?" she asks with a smile.

"Yep. Which is totally unrelated, I promise. Giz got some intel. I would go at it on my own to give you a day to recover from the pure amazing that is me, but frankly, vampires scare the shit outta' me, an' I figured you wouldn't have the same problem."

Raven frowns in confusion then, trying to connect the statements and coming up short.

"Vampires… Gonna' have to clue me in, Jinx."

"Magical goblet supposedly belonging to that freaky Victorian chick that tried to get immortal from bloodbaths. I mean _literal_ bloodbaths. Only so many types of people would want something belonging to her."

Raven's eyes widen as she makes the connection, slowly rising from her bed.

"Erzsebet Bathory's goblet," Raven clarifies. "Okay, that's kind of a dangerous one to have lying around. Give me an hour."

"Angelique?" Jinx asks, her smile making itself known in her voice.

"Sounds good to me. Hopefully they have my new order of tea in."

The cafe had become a common destination for their meetings while off-duty, and the two had become regulars to the father-son duo since their initial meeting there.

"We can only hope. Well, I'll see you in a bit. Ta-ta," the meta says in way of parting.

Smiling, Raven quickly goes through her morning routine before hunting down Nightwing.

"_Best to have him not wonder too much on where my time is spent. I can't afford to screw things up for Jinx_," she muses while floating silently through the halls.

She finally finds him, sitting in front of a monitor with Kori at his side.

"Any reports?" she asks in greeting.

"Yeah. Are you heading out solo again?"

"I have a lead to track down," she agrees. "Why?"

"Nothing. I'm just kind of disturbed at how good you are at being on your own. When this investigation's over, will being on a team again be difficult?"

"It's not that I'm good at it, necessarily, just that I have some very informed contacts," she argues with a shrug.

"I think I'd rather just not know, as long as you keep up the good work," he sighs. "Just be careful."

"What should I be watching out for?" she asks with a raised brow.

"Most of the criminals've been laying low for a while now, at least here in Jump. We got reports over the night that people have seen some of the Titans East around."

"Well, there's a name I hadn't heard in a while," the empath muses. "I'll definitely keep my eyes out. He'd definitely find it to be a good opportunity for some mayhem."

With that, she takes her leave, forming from a portal in the alley across from the cafe.

As the bell tinkles above her head, she finds Jinx already seated in their booth, a large jug of tea sitting on the table already.

"Good morning," she greets, taking her seat.

"Better now," the meta retorts, sliding a manilla envelope across the table to her. "Officially a month in… No regrets?"

Raven smiles at the nervousness coming from her girlfriend, brushing her foot along her leg beneath the table.

"Only that I didn't put more thought into a more sound excuse, so I wouldn't need to leave so early all the time. And that I wish I'd figured myself out sooner," she adds with a blush.

She quickly jots a note down on the ordering pad before Jinx walks it to the counter, Raven's attention going to the folder.

"So what's with the briefing?" she asks as her eyes move across the notes on the item.

"Giz finally agreed that you seeing the reports might help us out a lot. So this is the report he got from a tip to the D.M.A…. with the relevant names removed, obviously. Classified is classified."

"Wouldn't expect anything less. So, vampires, huh?"

"Hey, my blood belongs in me," Jinx justifies. "That shit freaks me out."

Smirking, Raven works her way through the report, a sense of foreboding taking form.

"So what do you think?" Jinx asks as she falls onto the cushion at the empath's side.

"Smooth," she deadpans.

Grinning, Jinx gives a shrug before leaning against her.

"I try."

"At any rate, I understand where your concern is coming from. Blood magic's never a good thing, and _that _woman could not have had any good use for such an item."

"But that's not what's bothering you," Jinx guesses, not missing her harsh frown.

"The report says that it was seen around Gotham."

"Any significance to that?"

"Maybe," she says without elaborating any further. "At any rate, I think we'd best eat, because from this report, there could be a lot of searching today, and that's just assuming that we _don't_ get into a fight with someone of persistence and skill over it. We're going to need the nutrition."

As if on command, the waiter slides their plates to them, a smile on his face.

"Ladies. Is the tea to your satisfaction, Ms. Roth?"

"It is fantastic," Raven agrees with a smile. "Has business been good recently?"

"Matter of fact it has. Wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

"I'm not the only one in this city who enjoys good tea and a comfortable place to drink it in. Word must be getting around," she says with a shrug, only Jinx spotting her smile hidden in her teacup.

"Uh-huh. Well, enjoy your meals," he says before walking off with a smile of his own.

"So spill, Rae, why might Gotham be a problem?" Jinx asks as soon as he's out of earshot.

"There are people in Gotham I would rather not get their hands on something with the goblet's power there. More than the usual. Dangerous people hide in that city's shadows," she intones mysteriously.

"Y'know, I kind of get how they might've believed you about the mystery network, when you say stuff like that," Jinx mutters, frowning at her girlfriend's cryptic words.

Raven simply shrugs, letting none of her worry show…  
****************************

"You weren't kiddin' about the searching," Jinx sighs, the pair walking silently out of an empty warehouse that, against the rumors, is one of the rare ones that actually _is_ empty.

True to Raven's words, they have spent several hours on the streets around Gotham, which border on Jump's.

Rumors have gotten them nowhere, and the more they search, the more a cold certainty is taking hold in the empath's mind.

As they begin heading in another direction, something stabs at her senses, a familiar energy making itself known to her mind.

Without a word, she wraps her hand around Jinx's wrist and begins moving in the direction of the source, a sigh leaving her.

"What is it, girl?" Jinx asks in a falsetto, laughing when Raven blushes.

"Shut up," Raven sighs, glaring at her girlfriend.

The lack of heat in the words and stare both does nothing to remove the expression from the meta's face.

"Seriously, what is it? We went that way before."

"One of those individuals that I mentioned is here. Best place to start looking."

"Okay, see, this is where you should be telling me what we're walking towards," Jinx says with a frown.

Raven begins to respond when they turn a corner and find a pair of men walking ahead of them, seeming oblivious to the rest of the world in their deep discussion.

Jinx's eyes don't miss the glint of gold in one of their hands, her eyes narrowing.

Her eyes move to the other man, widening in recognition at the short, blond man.

"Is that Impulse? I thought Wally was working with the kid, last I'd heard. What-"

"Inertia," Raven corrects. "Long story, think of him like the anti-Impulse. He's one of Sla- _Deathstroke_'s peons."

She still couldn't believe the guts of the mercenary introducing himself by name to their team on their first encounter, and yet it had taken them until barely a year earlier to finally make the connections.

"_Richard's still angry about it, I'm sure_," she adds with an internal grin.

"Okay. So who's the other guy? I'm gonna' go out on a limb and guess speedy isn't why you're so-"

The man's face turns at something Inertia says, and his almost white hair catches the dwindling sun, looking entirely out of place on the apparent teenager's face.

Jinx's eyes widen as her comment cuts off, taking in the appearance of her formerly calm girlfriend.

Raven's eyes suddenly narrow to slits, an inexplicable sense of foreboding taking root in Jinx at the sight.

At the sight of the man, an inexplicable anger forms in the pit of Raven's mind, a growl sounding itself out within her. A red haze covers her mind, and with a more audible growl, she mentally sweeps it away, the fog vanishing even as her anger remains.

Memories come unbidden to the forefront of her mind, and she lets out another, even more audible, rumble as she forces the red tint to her sight away.

"Rae?"

"Allow me to apologize, in advance. You're going to likely see a very negative side of me in the next few moments."

Jinx gapes at her teammate as she stalks forward, the anger in her voice something formerly thought to not exist in the empath's emotional lexicon.

Wordlessly, Raven advances on the two, making no sounds and seeming to have no presence at all, even as the meta stares at her.

The whole street seems to become unnaturally dark, no clouds thick enough anywhere near their location, and a cold wind sweeps past them all.

"Slumming it, aren't you, Inertia?" she growls when she's in the villains' earshot.

Inertia jumps at the noise, the mystery man simply turning to face her with an amused smirk.

"Ah, you _must_ be Raven," the man says, his voice carrying a strange accent.

"Brilliant deduction. I hope you weren't too disappointed with the _gift_ your coronation afforded you. I put effort into it, you know."

The man's eyes narrow, anger flashing in his red orbs.

"_Red?_" Jinx mentally gasps, not sure if her eyes are betraying her.

"You two know each other?" Inertia guesses, edging away from the two.

As he moves away, the air between the pair seems to shimmer, as if an unseen fire ignites in the middle of them.

Jinx ignores her growing sense of foreboding and steps up to Raven's side, ready to act when she calls for it.

"Only _of_ each other," the man laughs, the sound sending an inexplicable wave of disgust through the meta.

"You're going to be handing that goblet over to me," Raven demands. "_Now_."

"This?" he asks, raising the gold cup up for her inspection. "And here I thought you decided to just come and enjoy my wit."

"I would think you'd rather not, given the _hospitality_ I offered you previously," Raven bites out, a strange rumbling quality coming through her voice.

Jinx audibly gulps, a chill running through her.

"_What the hell!? Raven doesn't _banter_, that's my thing."_

Her body tenses, her senses cast wide so she can react when the moment things get ugly inevitably comes.

"Inertia, could you do me a favor and occupy Ms. Roth's friend while we have a _private_ discussion?" he calls behind him.

Jinx's eyes widen in shock at that, her face becoming pale at the casual use of the name. A brief sense of jealousy rears its ugly head before the look on Raven's face quashes it.

"_If looks could kill, there wouldn't even be buildings around here anymore. Who the hell _is_ this guy!?_" she ponders in distress, wanting desperately to remove the expression from her girlfriend's face.

Inertia begins to move before a cage of Raven's soul-self forms, trapping him off the ground.

"Nothing to discuss. The terms are simple. If you want to walk away better off than _they_ did, you'll hand me the goblet, _now_."

"I think I'd rather just see what you can do. Oh, and I should warn you my mind isn't one to be easily picked through as theirs were," he adds, seemingly at random.

"An unnecessary warning. I wouldn't want your filth on my mind. And I imagine that that will change once you no longer have your skin coiling around what you call your soul and your mind lays bare for what awaits you," Raven growls, the sound unnaturally vibrating the ground.

"But you'd know all _about_ souls, wouldn't you?" he taunts.

"Um… Raven? Who the _hell_ is he?" Jinx finally demands, not liking the growing fear in herself.

"She hasn't told you about me? I'm hurt, Rachel," the man laughs.

The mirth vanishes when a wave of black rushes towards him, the man jumping unnaturally high to dodge the strike.

"So rumors of familial temperament are more than rumors, it seems," he laughs. "As for who _I _am? Why, I am none other than Ms. Roth's betrothed."

Raven's eyes widen at that, before the fog returns. She vaguely feels a burning sensation in her forehead, but pays no attention as the gem in her forehead gains an unearthly, black glow.

The air becomes utterly still, and she meets the man's eyes, not realizing the red flecks that have begun to form in them.

"_I should have sent someone else the second I knew I was right_," she curses, fighting to wrest control from her anger.

The fight is a slow one, and her body moves of its own accord as she slowly regains her self-control back.

Jinx's heart skips a beat at the words, a cold fear gripping her mind in a vice.

As she stands frozen and analyzes the feeling, though, she finds it to not originate from his accusation, or the disbelief they cause.

What causes her reaction is the sudden shadows which fill the street with no discernible source, seeming to focus on obscuring Raven from view.

"Is that the trick you used to send my men back to me in emotional comas?" the man inquires, seeming almost bored with the display. "I was expecting something more impressive. The way our telepath told it, she made it sound like you had personally dipped their minds in Hell before sending them on their way. Oh, by the way, how _is_ daddy doing, Rachel? I hear the man's come down with a sudden case of patricide."

The cement beneath the empath's floating form cracks in a massive spider web pattern, the noise like an explosion going off in the silent street.

"_**My name is **_**Raven**," the empath intones, her voice echoing off the buildings.

At the sound of her voice, Jinx stumbles back a step, her instincts screaming at her to turn and run while giving no further explanation. Her legs, however, remain rooted to the spot, her only cold comfort being that Inertia looks far more scared than she.

Only the mystery man remains unfazed, a toothy grin revealing unnaturally long and sharp incisors.

"Cool trick. I imagine that you're quite the pleasure to bed, if you growl like this regularly. Care to prove me wrong?"

A grunt sounds from Raven, and her slight levitation ends, her feet audibly hitting the ground. Her hand flies to her forehead, and a burst of black light sets off in front of her crouched body.

When the blindness fades, Raven stands tall once more, her eyes perfectly indigo once more.

"Apologies. It seems you invoked some very unfortunate triggers I habitually avoid."

Jinx's fear vanishes along with the sensation rising in waves from her girlfriend, her feet quickly carrying her back to the woman's side. She does not miss the quivering undertone to the woman's words.

"You must be quite a special teammate," he laughs, addressing Jinx. "I'm betting were you not here, I could have some real trouble on my hands, there."

When she lays her hand flat on Raven's back, she notices a definitive tremble to her body.

And yet, her touch seems to quickly calm the psychic, if even only a small amount, and a small sigh escapes from Raven's pursed lips.

"Raven, who in the hell-"

"I believe you knew my father, Ms. Diaz," he interrupts. "We both are men who-"

"Have delusions of grandeur, which are a trait of _his_ family," Raven interrupts. "He's Brother Sebastian Blood IX."

Jinx pales at that, stepping closer to Raven's side.

"Oh, don't worry, I do not have the mental abilities my father used on your classmates and yourself in the H.I.V.E. Academy. And Rachel… sorry, _Raven_, if you want the goblet, all you have to do is take it from me, something you seem assured is of so little consequence you don't even want to waste the energy on it."

Inertia falls to the ground as Raven's energy retracts, her eyes suddenly glowing with sparks of black light.

"You can't say I didn't attempt a peaceable resolution, Sebastian. Jinx, a hand if you would?"

Her Cheshire smile finally makes its return, the meta's eyes glowing bright pink.

"From what I've picked up about you guys, if you're the new Brother, the old man's dead. That means the beating I owe him for fucking with my mind falls at _your _feet. I think I'm going to enjoy this."

"Much as I'd love both your lovely attentions, my bed's only big enough for two. Inertia, if you would?"

The speedster nods and vanishes from where he stands, rushing at Jinx with a fist aimed at her throat.

Still grinning, Jinx goes into a series of backflips, avoiding each of his strikes with a narrow margin.

His attention is so focused on hitting the feline woman that he notices none of the small bursts of pink light that forms between the ground and her palms with each of her handsprings.

When the ground cracks beneath him and his leg buries itself into a broken chunk of concrete, though, he takes notice as the meta moves back to Raven's side.

The women join their hands together, both pointing their index finger out.

A bolt of pink energy launches from them, sending off dark black sparks as it heads for Sebastian.

With a curse, he dives to the side, the ground exploding in a rain of rocks and dust where he had stood.

Sebastian's eyes glow red, and he snarls at them, revealing his fangs fully to the pair.

"A _vampire_!? _Seriously?_" Jinx bemoans.

Shrugging, Raven sends her soul-self out to swipe at the man, slapping him from the air with another attack as he rises.

He smacks into the side of a car, glass and metal crunching under the impact.

Raven begins advancing on him when a blur catches her eye.

She ducks just in time to dodge Inertia's punch, his body seeming to vanish as he chases after her in a barrage of attacks.

Something familiar makes itself known from the man, and Raven's eyes widen.

"Oh. That makes sense."

On his next attack, Raven clamps down on his wrist, her eyes glowing black.

"**Expergefacio**_!"_ she intones, planting her other hand on his forehead.

Small columns of white light leave Raven's gaping mouth and open eyes, Inertia's whole body turning the color.

It quickly fades, and the speedster quickly drops unconscious to the ground.

"That's not fair!" Sebastian snarls. "Do you know how hard it was to work through whatever the hell Deathstroke has him addicted to!?"

"My heart breaks for you," Raven says as her soul-self carries the boy to a safe spot. "Can't say I'm surprised you'd lie about having your father's abilities. I'd certainly never want to associate with the man."

Exhaustion shows on the vampire's face, his expression one of worry for the first time.

"Well, your mind's out of my league, but I wonder about your friend. Think Ms. Diaz could hold up to par?"

Jinx gasps at that, looking at the unconscious speedster and unconsciously moving closer to her girlfriend.

"I have no doubt Jinx would stand against you just fine," Raven laughs.

Jinx's eyes widen at that.

She doesn't know where Raven got that much confidence in her abilities, but memories of Sebastian's father easily slipping past her defenses when she was younger leave an acrid taste in her mouth.

"Uh, Rae-"

"All the same, should you attempt to test it, I'm sure you understand the… _consequences_ that could be reaped."

"_Ha_! Like you could really stand against me. You really shouldn't play with those connected to your existence. I learned much before my father left his mortal shell, and there are rather _interesting _ways of dealing with you. As you are now, I likely can't do as much, but oh, how I wonder at what would happen if you crossed that threshold."

Raven takes a step back as if punched in the face, shock registering on her expression.

Jinx stares at the woman with her own shock, fear rearing its ugly head again as she wonders over what could scare _Raven_.

In their distraction, the women fail to notice him slowly edging to the side of the road.

By the time Raven's mind clears enough to recognize it, he's already mid-way through his spin, a foot lashing out at the fire hydrant.

She immediately begins rushing through the air at him as the water springs high.

With a grin, he swings the goblet through the spray in an arc that brings it to his lips, the now red liquid within drizzling into his system and down to his chin.

His exhaustion vanishes without a trace, his entire body seeming to grow muscles where a wiry frame had been.

Raven attempts to stop her course, her momentum carrying her the small distance to him.

With a grin, Sebastian steps to the side. His hand shoots out as she passes him, the sudden pull on her hair ripping her head up while her body carries forward.

Her body jerks to a stop, Raven's eyes widening in pain as her neck muscles visibly strain.

Grinning ear to ear, Sebastian raises his arm and swipes it downward, Raven's body shattering the ground in the impact.

"Raven!"

The empath recovers quickly, spitting blood onto the concrete as she rises to her knees.

"Azarath Met-"

Sebastian jerks her back, hand going around her already bruised throat as she falls off balance.

"Uh-uh. Too late, _Raven_."

With a hiss of her own, Jinx runs forward, a bolt of pink flying at the man.

It collides with a neon explosion, and his hand releases Raven's hair as he flies backwards, many purple strands going with him.

Raven immediately takes flight, backing away from the vampire.

"Are you okay?" Jinx asks as soon as she reaches her, her tone full of concern.

"I'll be fine," the empath wheezes, wondering at the pain in her ribs' general location.

"I'd love the debrief right 'bout now," Jinx states as the vampire rises to his feet.

"_Ouch_," he unconvincingly says, dusting himself off.

"The water turned to blood. With blood, he goes from gawky little brat to supervampire, essentially. Damnit, I should've called in help before!"

"Probably right. And we are _so_ talking about this when you're not looking ready to keel over. So what all can he do?"

Wincing, Raven straightens up.

"Rumors only, unfortunately. First time getting the _pleasure_ of meeting 'im. Looks like the superhuman strength wasn't wrong, though."

With a laugh, Sebastian rushes forward, the street seeming to vibrate beneath his steps.

They move to get out of his way just as he reaches them, his fist whipping out into Raven's stomach.

With a gasp, she doubles over, bringing her head in alignment with his approaching knee.

She rises into the air, blood quickly flowing from her smashed nose.

With her tears obscuring her vision, she misses his reaching hand.

He presses on her forehead, slamming her down into the cement skull-first.

"You really _should_ keep up with your combat skills, dear," he laughs with false sympathy. "Your magic doesn't do you a lot of good if you're gasping too much to say anything."

Anger begins taking over Raven's mind, this time becoming embraced by her.

A sudden surge of power flows through her, and with a hiss, she swings her legs up.

Standing overtop of her, he doesn't react fast enough to the attack.

A loud _crack_ sounds as her feet meet his knees, and as he falls forward, she wraps her legs around his chest.

With a grunt, she pushes off the ground, going into a roll with him and coming to a stop straddling him.

Her fist lashes out, black energy sparking out as she connects.

His head whips viciously to the side, his lower jaw bent at an angle.

As he reaches for her, she jumps away, landing quietly next to Jinx.

"Rae-"

"I'm really wishing that booze works on me right about now," Raven gasps, finding her nose already in the process of fixing itself.

Her hand goes to the back of her head, coming away a startling shade of red.

With a laugh, Sebastian stands up sporting not a scratch, only the blood covering his chin and neck indicating the previous damage.

"And the invulnerability and regeneration are correct, as well. Okay… Jinx, I apologize. Your sentiments on vampires are not as misplaced as I had assumed."

"Damn right! So what _can _hurt him?"

Raven stares at the approaching vampire, a war battling itself out in her head.

"_You can't afford caution with this one. Your confidence has already done damage that would render most metahumans unconscious. Doesn't much matter if you're still you if you're dead_," a dark voice growls in her mind.

Her expression darkens, and sparks of black begin rising from her like a second skin.

"Jinx, step back a bit."

"… Why?"

"I don't want to end up accidentally hurting you. Holding back is a luxury that we can't afford just now."

Jinx's eyes widen, her body immediately flipping backward to separate them. The idea of all Raven's power being a sliver was enough to both terrify and amaze the meta.

Raven's eyes close, and a frown of concentration forms.

Slowly, her leash on Rage's influence slackens, her body immediately flooding with the power her demonic side affords her.

When her eyes open, they sport brilliant, glowing red speckling, the expression causing the vampire's advance to falter.

"Azarath-"

Snarling, Sebastian begins running at her, pushing his influence past her spell into Inertia's unconscious and vulnerable mind.

"_Metrion_-"

Inertia rises with glazed over eyes, immediately rushing at the sorceress's back. Sebastian leaps forward, swinging his fist at her throat in the hopes of crushing her trachea.

"_**Zinthos**_!"

With the cry rises a bubble of black flames, slamming in a concussive wall into her assailants.

A scream sounds as the flames work their way into Sebastian...  
**************************

_Author's Notes_:

Erzsebet Bathory is the actual spelling of the name of Elizabeth Bathory, a countess who did exactly what I wrote, in the theory it would give her eternal youth. She's 1/2 of what Bram Stoker based Count Dracula on.

This is not the Titans East run by Bumble Bee. In this instance, I'm using the anti-Titans group that Deathstroke (Slade "Slade" Wilson in the comics) makes in the comics. Inertia is the speedster on their team, a clone of Bart Allen, who in the context of this story would be Wally West's apprentice, gaining powers from a drug that Deathstroke seems really fond of using on his minions and/or powerful steroids. Think I may be making this more complex than strictly necessary.

Expergefacio- Latin for "awaken"

Also, I'm pretty sure that Sebastian Blood's hands-down one of the creepiest characters in the Teen Titans series, if not the DC comics universe as a whole. Hope that came through well enough.

Hope you're enjoying thus far! I really enjoy writing supernatural fights, and I hope it comes through. Either way, let me know your thoughts. 'Til next time!


	16. Bloodlust

Bloodlust

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

_Warning: Lots of violence / Abbreviated lemon at the end_

Sebastian and Inertia slam into the ground, unnatural black flames slowly dissipating from their limp forms.

Unconscious to start, Inertia lays utterly still, blood caking his face and an ugly burn covering one of his legs through his green jumpsuit.

Sebastian, on the other hand, forces himself to roll on his back with a grunt.

The flames having left her energy inside of him, his body refuses to knit its many burnt patches and tears back together. His blood slowly begins coalescing in the cracked cement beneath him.

With a flourish, he is quick to put himself back on his feet, eyes glowing the dark red of old blood.

"That was not bad," he says before spitting blood to the ground.

"I'm _so _glad you decided to get back up," Raven muses, her eyes glowing in her eagerness.

He pauses at that, his smirk faltering somewhat.

"Didn't think you took so much of your familial tendencies to heart, Rachel," he laughs.

Her eyes gain a hellish, red glow to them, and her own lips curve into a sneer.

"You wouldn't dare to see what I can be if I really aligned myself that way."

She walks towards him, her soul-self rising in black smoke around her fists.

"The reason I'm pleased with your persistence, _Sebastian_, is that you pointed something out about my skills. I really _should_ keep up with my short range skills. And who better to have as a sparring partner than a vampire who, _theoretically_, will keep coming back for more?"

He pales at that, her darkening eyes sending a chill through him.

Just as he begins debating charging or retreating as his best option, she moves.

In a flash, her body is in front of his, and she whips her right fist forward.

As the momentum collides with his jaw, her soul-self snaps out to follow the path.

Even as he begins moving backward from her fist's impact, the power slams down, and he grunts as several teeth are knocked completely free.

As he begins heading for the ground, she steps forward and sends a kick into his ribs, in the exact spot he'd hurt her.

More of her psychic power formed between her limb and the vampire's body.

This time, it explodes in a cloud of black sparks and ugly, acrid smoke on the top of her foot.

His pain is more audibly marked this time, his body going limp on the ground as pain wracks his chest.

Jinx watches on, both impressed and terrified of the display at the same time.

"That's not very _fair, __**hero**_," he coughs. "Killing and maiming is _our_ deal!"

"You talk still, so I clearly haven't crossed lines," Raven reasons, her voice coming out in a hiss.

"Villain or not, isn't your team of vigilantes always under close watch? Wonder what'll happen when someone in these buildings sees you calling down those oh, so dangerous powers of yours."

His grin cannot hide his pain, but he smirks nonetheless.

Raven stares with her glowing eyes straight ahead, making him think he has gained an upper hand over the demonling.

"You know nothing of my _powers_, vampire," she states just as he begins rising.

Snorting, he begins hobbling away, not seeing the grin that carves its way onto her face.

"You should know from father dearest what kind of skill we have at smear jobs. Consider yourself lucky I'm tactically retreating until I figure out just why in the 7th circle I'm not healing."

Raven silently moves towards the retreating figure, a pain in her skull going unnoticed as she approaches like wrath incarnate.

Jinx, however, has no such distraction.

Which is why, when her girlfriend's eyes suddenly become pure, blood-red, and a second pair rips its way into existence above them, she begins duly panicking.

The shadows on the street become alive as Raven's cloak flows in an unfelt wind, billowing around her and seeming to grow.

Dark tendrils begin slithering along the ground around her, seeming to originate in the cloak itself.

With vicious speed, the tendrils lash out and slam into Sebastian's ankle, sending him sprawling to the ground with a moan of pain.

Jinx's stomach turns at the sight of the odd angle of his ankle as he lands, terror wrapping around her brain in a primal warning.

Raven reaches the fallen vampire, her grin becoming even larger.

"You're correct, Brother Blood, I most certainly should _not_ be doing what I'm doing. Attacking a weakened opponent while his back is turned is the least of my PR nightmares… But do you want to know a little secret?" she asks, stooping down near his head and forcing their eyes to lock.

Her eyes glow menacingly in the shadows her hood casts, her body darkened to the point of seeming like an abyss unto itself.

Images of his body being devoured flitter through the vampire's mind, and he begins gasping as panic speeds his heart up.

"Dr. Light taught me a lesson over the years. If I don't make you criminals understand the consequences of your actions, more than a posh little cell with fellows also dedicated to being nuisances, you will simply return to harm innocents."

A twinge of warning runs through Raven's mind, going ignored in the red haze covering her.

"With the Titans, or most hero organizations, such actions are rather important. But for me, this little outing has informed me of something."

"Wh-What?" he gasps, morbid curiosity talking for him.

"There is a limit to my tolerance for allowing repeat injuries," she replies, her voice beginning to get deeper with every word. "_**If we had not shown up, what would you have done with your mind-puppet? Robbed a bank? Gone on a killing spree? Attempted to use the goblet in some ritual to repeat the past mistakes of your cult? This is a limit I will happily break, to stop you from hurting innocents more.**_"

At this, Sebastian's body vibrates with laughter, spit hitting her face as he does.

"We hurt no _innocents_! We hurt _you_, and you, Ms. Hellion, are certainly no one's idea of _innocent_! Your origins make you worse by nature than I could ever be!" he laughs.

Raven's eyes flare with power, and his amusement vanishes when a shadowy tendril wraps tightly around the middle of his undamaged leg, squeezing hard.

With a _snap_, his femur gives, a scream echoing in the air as he desperately rolls around, clutching at the damage.

The sound reaches through the fog of her rage and pulls something free.

Her consciousness returning, Raven tastes the emotions on the air. The absolute terror from the cultist doesn't bother her all that much.

The fear, worry, and growing anger coming from Jinx, however, is a painful cocktail which snaps her mind back into focus.

The red haze around her vision vanishes in a blink, and she falls to her feet on the ground.

The tentacles vanish in wisps of oily smoke, and her eyes return to their normal color.

"_We will have words about what relaxed control means and does not mean, Rage. After I clean up your mess,"_ she mentally swears, hearing a growl in response.

Her hands gain a blue glow, and she points at the vampire, watching as his broken legs slowly right themselves.

"I think I've established now how greatly your arrogance was misplaced, Sebastian."

He flinches at her words, and she decides to use her immense screw-up for at least _some _benefit.

"You're going to answer me, now. Where did you get your hands on the goblet?"

Something in his expression hardens as he stares up at her, his mouth opening to answer.

Something shifts in the air, and Raven's eyes snap up as the blur of Inertia makes itself known.

He reaches her with his fist raised out, almost snapping her neck as he hits her.

Grunting, Raven dances away from his continued attacks, her freshly healed wounds screaming at her.

The speedster gives her no time to counter him, never more than a second between each of his strikes and the target constantly changing.

Jinx violently shakes her head, forcing herself out of her stupor.

"_We are having words," _she mentally snarls. "_The fuck'd I get myself into here?"_

Seeing the goblet gleaming in the distance, flung away from the vampire in the struggle.

Pushing into action, she rushes past him and dives for the goblet, coming out of her roll with the object white-knuckled in her hand.

"Raven! Extraction, _now_!" she screams.

A bubble of soul-self forms around the empath, and Inertia is thrown far through the air when it violently expands.

In the next second, Raven's arm is around the meta and another bubble is surrounding them.

A moment later, the two fall gasping onto the floor of Jinx's apartment.

Slowly, Jinx sits up, glaring at the goblet in her hand before throwing it away in irritation.

"Well that didn't quite go to plan."

Under other circumstances, Raven would have laughed at the purposeful understatement.

At the moment, though, her possible soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend has no humor in her expression, eyes narrowed on the demonling.

"'Kay, couple little things I need to ask. You understand, I'm sure. Let's start with the easy stuff-"

"Jinx-"

"How about the whole _torturer from the Circles_ bit. Care to share?"

Raven winces, slowly sitting up while pressing her hand to her forehead.

"Look, it ain't like I've got a moral high ground here, with the shit I saw with the Squad, or even what I've personally done since joining the D.M.A., but you scared the shit out of me out there. We've known each other for almost seven damn years. More than three months of that getting to know each other well, I'd like to think, and even fighting together. Not _once_ have I seen you lose your shit like that," she states, her tone gradually becoming softer.

"Scared you, huh?" the psychic responds with a bitter laugh. "Something would be very wrong with you if you _weren't_ scared. I'd like to say that it was all for the purpose of getting information from him, but I'm not that good a liar and you deserve _far_ more credit than that…"

"So what in the hell?" Jinx responds, shocked at the sight of tears glimmering in the woman's eyes.

Raven takes a deep breath, meeting Jinx's gaze with determination.

"There are things about me, which will need to be aired if we continue. Partners, friends, girlfriends, lovers, it _will_ eventually be a long discussion… But there is a right way of going about it, and in the heat of something like that is not the right time."

Jinx's eyes narrow, and Raven leans forward, grabbing her shoulders, only vaguely aware of the tremors working their way through her grasp.

"I'm not trying to avoid things. To properly explain what all of… _that_… was, I need to better grasp it myself. I have not lost control like that in a _very_ long time… I would tell you I have no intention of letting such a slip-up happen ever again, but such a promise could not possibly be something I could make. I... I understand if this is enough to frighten you off," she adds, refusing to meet her eyes.

Jinx stares at the woman, the idea of suddenly cutting contact with her causing an inexplicable pain to shoot through her.

"Rae… Just talk to me. You don't need to explain everything until you're ready," she quickly adds to the woman's terrified expression, "but I need something. Out there… that was _not_ the sweet and funny Raven that I asked out. I need to know if something's going wrong… Is it the artifacts in Nevermore?"

"It is, undoubtedly, in part due to them," Raven sighs.

She takes a hold of Jinx's hand, the meta shocked at the tremors running through her appendage.

"As I said, there are things about me you don't know. The items have made those things more volatile, and because of them, I lost control in the face of one of the few people in existence I can say I actually hate. Another aspect, surely, is that your line of work, which I've become more accustomed to working under since we began working together, affords more freedom in dealing with people like Sebastian."

Jinx tightens her hold on Raven's hand, making the psychic meet her gaze.

"If you'd just said you prefer the limitations set on how I can handle people over how you can as a Titan, I would've at least been prepared. But it came out of nowhere. One minute, we're just looking around, and the next, you go full sociopath on two guys who were just walkin' down the street. Sure, we knew they had the goblet, but that's a long way from suddenly throwing down with 'em. I mean, I get that you two know each other and do _not_ get along, but that's a far way away from what you were almost doing."

Raven's internal battle is obvious, Jinx soothingly rubbing circles in the tops of her hands as she thinks.

"_She isn't running screaming, or reviling me. Her handling of this is _far_ better than others would be. She _deserves_ answers," _Raven muses, the image of a stone table taking up her mind.

"_She's earned your trust,"_ one of the figures pictured at the table adds. "_If that had been one of the Titans with you, or any of the League members of repute, we would be unconscious or dead right now."_

_"The woman is willing to accept you enough to give you a fair chance to justify Rage's actions," _yet another of the figures adds.

Nodding, Raven comes awake from her pseudo-trance, meeting Jinx's eyes unflinchingly.

"There is a reason I keep such close monitoring on the Church of Blood," she starts.

"Okay, that's a good place to start. Where the hell'd he get the idea you're married?"

"A few days into his role as the new Brother Blood, he got the idea into his head that my power would be useful to their goals. A prophecy apparently says I would become his wife and Armageddon would be a direct result. He believes that he can… _sire_ a power great enough to affirm the Church's beliefs on the whole of the Earth. Whether I would ever agree to it or not."

Jinx pales at that, a lot of Raven's reaction making much more sense suddenly.

"_Yeah, that's a pretty good reason to lose your shit."_

"Holy shit. Okay… um… am I terrible for being glad I only met the creepy puppeteer old man, way past his urges? Wait, didn't you say you hadn't met before?"

"He sent some Church members to abduct me one night. I was shot with a tranquilizer. As you understand, such things don't work on me, but there was _something_ mixed in that made it work. I still don't know what it was, but it worked, at least temporarily."

"They could've killed you mixing shit in," Jinx gasps.

"Either is a victorious conclusion for them. Not helping their cause is actively going against it, and all that, barring the fact that I _am _actively against them. Several men grabbed me up and gagged me while I was hazy. They had, unfortunately, used plastic zip strips to bind me. Strong on their own right, but against my power, barely a second's distraction."

"So the, uh… _coronation_ present you mentioned...?"

"I freed myself and cast an illusion on them. They gave up all the information of his ambitions I just mentioned, but unfortunately their minds did not handle the strain. I decided to anonymously send them to Gotham, where they have a central base, as a message on what I thought of his plans."

"Okay, yeah, your reaction was pretty understandable," Jinx agrees.

"I should not have lost control as I did… though I will admit, even with the force driving it gone, I do not disparage against the freedoms of dealing with criminals your line of work affords you. I think at the very least, he'll be reconsidering doing business in a sizable range from my territory now."

Jinx smiles at that, the tension slowly fading from the women.

Accepting a promise for an explanation, and feeling as though she may not want the answers anyway, she decides that they both need relaxation.

"Think Giz'll be pissed when he finds out that nothing mentioned that guy… Inertia?"

"Blood had him under his psychokinesis. He may have just been committing petty theft or running an errand and had the misfortune of running into him."

"Something I don't wish on anyone," Jinx muses, dark memories rising unbidden to her gaze.

Seeing it, Raven pulls her into her arms, the meta pressing her head into her shoulder.

"Even with my screw up, there is _one_ thing positive to come out of it all," Raven muses.

"Oh? What's that? We've confirmed that we need to work on communication only a month into dating?"

"Good to know those things quickly," Raven agrees. "But no."

Grinning, she points at the cup, looking very out of place on the worn carpeting.

"We just managed to keep the Church of Blood from getting another magic artifact."

At that, Jinx laughs, the bad mood vanishing under at least a temporary blanket of elation.

Unspent adrenaline rushes through the women, and before they're aware they find themselves on Jinx's bed, lips seeming welded together.

Gasps fill the air as the two press together, Raven's eyes slamming closed as Jinx pulls away only to suck hard on her neck, directly on the pulse point.

The adrenaline slowly begins working its way out of them, their kisses slowing and becoming deeper.

Raven doesn't realize her hand has moved until Jinx arcs into her palm with a gasp.

Looking down, her face turns red at finding her hand pressed firmly into the woman's breast.

Sensing her hesitation, Jinx gently grabs the back of her neck and tilts her head, pressing another kiss to her that drains them of air.

"If you're worried about something happening, we can stop," she offers, shocking Raven.

"It's not _me_ who should be worried, Jinx. Although what fueled my actions before and now are separate… I will not hold it against you if you would prefer a situation that's less… terrifying… to do this."

"You kiddin'? We both need to unwind, and I think this would be a pretty good way to do that. I ain't exactly the _take things slow_ type, y'know? Still, though, I gotta' ask. If you were angry while doing that, does that mean I have to get you angry to hear you growl for me? 'Cause I kinda' can't get the thought outta' my head now," Jinx purrs, gently licking the shell of her ear.

"I'm going to make talking unnecessary now, before I question your sanity," Raven remarks.

Before Jinx's witty remark forms, the psychic grabs her and rolls, putting herself on top of the meta. Her lips crash down hard on the woman's as her hand begins gradually brushing the hem of her shirt upward.

It doesn't take long before the two dissolve into liquid pleasure, their minds quickly forgetting the horrors of the day in favor of much more enjoyable memories made…  
**************************

_Author's Notes_:

Have I mentioned Sebastian is creepy? Because I'll reiterate. That story Raven tells? That's a thing he does in the comics, if it went the other way and they _don't_ manage to kidnap her.

I decided to keep the sexiness short, because this site doesn't allow for MA-rated elements. I'll find someplace to upload a full scene, should it be requested enough that I write it.

So, am I being too OOC with the characters? I'm basically taking a lot of traits from the various Raven incarnations over the years and trying to make them work in the context of the cartoon's universe. Don't know how well it's working. But you do. You, yes you, and you can feel free to inform me of how well it's working, the characters and story thus far both, which would be greatly appreciated.

And the above is what happens when I write until it's 8AM the next day, folks. Not recommended. See you next time!


	17. Deception

Deception

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven's awareness expands slowly, her eyes reluctant to open.

A soft exhale of breath brings the warmth wrapped around her to attention, and she looks down, a smile spreading at the girl holding her.

"Bout damn time," Jinx sighs, running her palm in a soothing circle on her girlfriend's abdomen.

Raven merely nods her agreement, an unexpected aftershock sending more pleasurable ripples through her.

As her head falls to the side, the clock next to Jinx's bed makes itself known.

Shock runs through her, her trepidation not nearly as strong as it should be.

"I think I need to leave shortly," she states, her smile perpetually curving her lips.

"Really? It's only been- Holy shit," the meta laughs, noticing the time herself.

"Indeed. It seems you are better than you give yourself credit," Raven sighs as she sits up.

Laughing, Jinx places another kiss on her neck, rising with her girlfriend.

"You ain't so bad yourself. I do so _love_ quick learners."

"Not quick enough, evidently. Nightwing will have expected my return two hours ago."

The psychic's good mood begins slowly dwindling, and with a huff, she forces herself to leave Jinx's side.

"I fear we're going to have to ruin this very lovely mood, for now. Before I part, can I assume that was the way of saying we're going to be okay?"

Jinx's smile sours somewhat, but it quickly fades as she wraps her arm around Raven's stomach from behind.

"Long as you explain things, I can wait until your ready. _Reasonably_, of course," she adds with a gentle squeeze. "And if you're talking in the general sense, you've no idea just how _okay_ I am."

Blushing, Raven turns her head and gives her another kiss, a grin on both their faces as they pull away.

"Then I shall see you shortly. I need to make an appearance, and give a report, before we get the others and that goblet ready for their return."

"I'll just have to find something to occupy myself," Jinx sighs with a nod.

Grinning, Raven redresses and pulls the goblet through her portal into Nevermore, her yellow avatar catching it with one hand and not even glancing up from her book as she does.

"_Keep an eye on Rage_," she mentally intones, not trusting the items to be safe in her mind anymore, nor the influence they seem to have on her control.

"Well, then, I'm off. Dear Azar, I hope my mind can stay away from the past several hours while Richard is interrogating me."

Jinx's smirk fades as her girlfriend is swallowed up by her portal.

"_I'm hoping she's ready soon, cause Giz'd have a fit if he ever found out she went postal on an op,"_ she thinks with a grimace…  
****************************

Raven heads into her shower as soon as she materializes within the Tower, hurriedly working Jinx's scent and their mingled sweat off her.

"_Can't think Beast Boy would overlook that_," she muses with a powerful blush.

In short time, she appears in the common room, taking a seat across from Nightwing, who seems to have not moved since she had departed nearly half a day ago.

"You didn't happen to be in Gotham on your lead, right?" Nightwing asks, his tone sending a shiver through the psychic.

"I was. My search got… derailed, somewhat. I decided to report before I head back out to follow up," she states, giving him nothing in her tone.

"And you wouldn't know anything about why a whole city block suddenly fell asleep for the same exact half hour there, would you? Batman can't make heads or tails of such an event."

"My search got distracted by the appearance of Inertia and Sebastian Blood IX. There was a fight, and I admit that I may have loosed more of my power than usual. I didn't realize it would do that, though."

Nightwing's eyes narrow dangerously, his mask contouring to mirror the expression.

"I don't remember any calls for back-up coming in about one of the Titans East showing up. I _do_ vaguely remember telling you to keep your eyes out for them, though."

"I handled them just fine, Richard," she defensively growls. "And Blood has one of the items. Or he did when he vanished. I was unable to match Inertia's speed, and as Kid Flash is out of country and Flash has better things to do, I did not call for aid. The result would have been the same."

"Alright, fine, I'll believe you if you tell me you made a command decision in-field. But it's your screw-up to clean up if they hurt people because they managed to get away."

Raven's eyes form a glare of their own, barely more than narrow slits.

"As I said, I'm reporting to keep you updated before I head back out to look for them, because I knew you would want a de-brief in person. And you really should focus on another aspect of it," she says, deciding that she does not want the emotions from the man focused on her.

"What?"

"Sebastian Blood. Inertia. Working together," Raven reiterates.

As expected, Nightwing's eyes widen as his mind instantly goes to work.

"So the Church, or Deathstroke, can be behind this," he growls.

"Or at the least have some hand in it," she adds, hiding her smile at how easily his thoughts have gone where she wanted them to.

"Alright, good work, then. You got us a lead. If the damage reports are accurate, then you'll have sent them to ground while they look into somewhere to heal. I don't agree with how you did it all, but I'll say that you got us results, again."

Nodding, Raven stands back up, heading for her room.

"And Raven?"

A warning goes off in the psychic's mind, and she slowly turns towards him with her stoic mask in place, a feat she finds more and more difficult the more she associates with the hex caster.

"If you're planning on going solo from the Titans, I at least expect a notification."

Raven's eyebrow raises, revealing none of her startled guilt to the masked man.

"I don't see how you came to that concern. I've already said that I'm only investigating on my own because I will get better results from my contacts without you and the others around to scare them off."

She feels his eyes locked on her, seeming to read into her soul itself.

"And fighting Brother Blood alone, with your powers that you keep wrapped in your mind unleashed, in broad daylight in Gotham, which I'm sure was an entirely objective choice of action. And there's the matter of your absence from the Tower while occasionally off-duty, which even Beast Boy noticed."

Raven turns back to him, letting out an irritated sigh.

"The man obtained blood somewhere. I don't know how many vampires you've fought, Richard, but invulnerability on top of regeneration and superstrength makes for a very, very bad combination. I was caught in the moment, and so I minimized the possible damages by letting myself have a small amount of freedom. It worked, barring Inertia's interference."

"And Batman showed me the photos. You almost leveled the street. There was a lot of blood, too, and his analysis came up with the distinct lack of results that very few people can achieve, one of them being you."

"I did not ever say I decimated him, which would be the response were I to fully release myself. I let out just enough to hurt him, and your question of my control is frankly insulting."

That it wasn't incorrect was an issue that does _not_ need raising.

"And your off-duty time? I thought you and Zee handled it."

"We did, and it has been far less uncomfortable since," she lies. "But let me make something clear. My _personal_ time is exactly that. Cyborg travels, Beast Boy goes clubbing, Zatanna does her shows, and you and Koriand'r do whatever it is you two do that I don't inquire into. And yet I can't after all these years decide to find interests and hobbies that will remove me from the Tower? Who are you to complain if I don't clear my plans with you?"

The last statement comes out with a cold, accusing glare, his reacting emotions of suspicion and guilt slamming into her mind from nowhere.

"Okay, I can see your point," he sighs while massaging his neck. "It isn't my business. Just one thing."

She raises her eyebrow inquiringly, saying nothing as she tries to make sense of his reaction.

"_Don't_ call me Richard when we're on duty," he growls.

"And yet you have no problems being addressed that way from Koriand'r or Zatanna. I'm hurt," Raven snarks with a smirk. "We're in our home. It would not kill you to loosen up a bit, and coming from _me_, you should realize just how sad the state of things must be for you, _Nightwing_. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a deluded vampire to hunt down."

She leaves the room, laughing at his blush as she goes.

Focusing on what could have caused his suspicion, she fails to see Cyborg until she marches into him, bouncing back to the floor without moving him.

"Sorry," she mumbles while rising.

"No problem. You know, you'd save yourself a pain in the ass if ya' just told him you were datin'," the metal man laughs. "Nothin' scares 'im into shuttin' up faster than emotions."

"He already suspects me of _something_. There's no incentive to possibly have him running his Dark Knight routine and tracking who my girlfriend is," she replies nonchalantly.

Her eyes widen as her mind catches up with her words, a dark blush creeping along her cheeks.

"Were you listening?"

"Not by choice. On my way to get some eats," he shrugs. "For what it's worth, I don't agree with him. You've got just as much right to have a life as anyone else, hero or villain… when they ain't committin' crimes," he adds with a grin.

"Thank you… Have a good meal," she says, parting from him with a smile.

As soon as she reaches her room, a black raven takes over her body, and she appears the next moment in Jinx's living room.

"That didn't take long."

Jinx looks up from where she lay across the couch, resting her open book against her stomach.

"So what'd bird-brain say?"

"He already knew about our gathering in Gotham. My powers rendered everyone who could identify anyone there asleep," she adds to her girlfriend's terrified gaze.

"Then he knew it was you because…?"

"More of my unique physiology. Batman gathered blood samples from the street. Mine is rather hard to mistake. I told him Inertia pulled them out with the item and that I'm heading out to hunt them down right now."

"And yet, I'm guessing that the insubordination and spycraft ain't what has you upset," Jinx muses, rolling to put her feet on the ground.

"I am not _upset_… Worried. Very, _very_ worried."

"Why? He didn't threaten you or anythin', right?"

With a sigh, Raven takes a seat next to her, glaring at the wall.

"He raised a point that I don't want to indulge with thought at the moment."

"…Can you tell me anything about it? I mean, if I can help..."

She trails off, feeling somewhat awkward.

Raven stares into her gaze for several moments, clearly deliberating on something with herself.

Finally, she gives a slow nod, and takes a seat against the meta's side on the couch.

"As my girlfriend, I'll tell you that I'm growing rather tired of being under constant watch, which his scrutiny over my free time proves that I am, whether I let it irritate me or not."

Jinx wraps her arm around the woman's stomach and pulls her even closer, smiling when the psychic's head nestles into her shoulder.

"And as my partner, I'll tell you that his concerns, that I have begun to prefer doing my own work over being a team player, are not unsound," she continues. "I have, since the two of us began working together, found myself less and less caring of the petty squabbles I am forced to intervene in with the Titans whenever Cinderblock or Mumbo Jumbo break out to annoy everyone."

"Couldn't you join the Justice League? They've got tons of solo acts, and they don't deal with that kinda' crap," Jinx offers.

At that, Raven laughs, the sound entirely bitter.

"That will never happen, even if I for some reason became brain damaged and decided I wanted to be with them."

"I'm gonna' play it safe and not ask," Jinx mutters. "One thing I been thinking about while you're gone."

"What?" the psychic asks with a frown, her girlfriend's concern setting her further on edge.

"Will Nevermore be… _stable_… while you're dealing with what you need to deal with? I mean, it's a reflection of your mind, right?"

"There are sections of it that are likely not the safest at the moment, but we'll be staying in the usual spot while dealing with these things. Frankly, I think that, while undoubtedly the safest place for it, we need to come up with an alternative for storing them. I believe that part of my change earlier may have resulted from the power and emotions of the items leaking into me. There is the matter of your influence likely also lowering my defenses-"

Jinx stiffens, her eyes widening in shock.

"-_but_ I am far more willing to remove the items than to remove myself from you," Raven quickly continues, smiling as the woman relax into her side. "Ultimately, both may not be an issue to my control for much longer. I am setting some plans into motion, things I should likely have done years ago."

"If it means we don't have to stop working, and, uh, doing _other things_, together, I'm all for it, Rae. So, can we get workin' on the cosmic balance _shtick_, so we can hurry on to having more fun?"

Smiling, Raven raises her hand, planting a kiss on the woman's cheek as her eyes flare black.

In the next moment, they are in the familiar floating landscape of Nevermore.

Where they land, the yellow-garbed Raven sits with a spear, goblet, and amulet at her side.

"When you decide you're ready, you _really_ need to tell me the deal with there being two of you. Still find it weird," Jinx muses.

With a sweep of her hand, the yellow Raven sends the items floating toward them before returning her gaze to a book in her lap.

The items land in a row on the ground, the dark emotions in them screeching inside her skull.

"I suggested getting these things out of here," the woman states. "Things have been acting up here since you two began storing items here. Her _display_ was due to an irritant gaining influence from their negative presence."

"Has there been any… _activity_?" Raven asks, her concern sending a bolt of foreboding through Jinx.

"Some disagreement on how to take Richard's actions and emotions. A small amount of concern over how terrified your slip-up may have made your girlfriend, which went away when she reaffirmed your trust in her as correct. Nothing nearly as drastic as Sebastian caused," the yellow Raven deadpans.

Jinx blushes at being referred to so distantly by the clone, her tone reminding her of the Raven of the past.

"Alright. Shall we?" Raven asks as she extends her hand to the meta.

With a nod, they form a loose circle around the objects and begin floating.

Slowly, the power from them begins burning its way out into the universe, the evil mutterings leaving Raven as it goes.

When the spear and amulet are drained, a thought occurs to Raven.

"We can't completely drain the goblet. They won't buy that Blood used the whole thing."

Jinx nods, her eyes still closed in a frown of concentration.

"I told you I'm getting better at this. Just need some instruction."

They focus more energy on the goblet, neither of them seeing the waves of black light rising from Raven's body.

Slowly, the goblet begins glowing in kind.

"I know it might be difficult, but I need you to hold the circuit we make stable."

Jinx nods, the strain on her mind slowly increasing as Raven lets some of her concentration leave the invisible ring they form.

"Azarath Metrion _Zinthos_," Raven intones.

A black raven of energy launches from her floating body, sliding into the cup.

Sweat begins to pour from both women as Raven slides past the grating negative emotions in the cup's magical core.

Sensing what she's looking for, she delves deeper, an image of an aged man dipping the goblet through a bath tub spotted scarlet coming to her mind.

The red liquid within the tub turns to clear water, even as the clear liquid in the cup turns its former bloody hue.

A mental hand lashes out and swipes at the energy making the memory up.

As soon as she connects, Raven's mind is thrown back to her body.

The goblet gives a pulse of ugly, red light, and the air goes still.

With a huff, the women fall to the ground, Raven gasping air desperately into her throat.

With a wave of her hand, Raven drops the spear and amulet through her portals into the museum they originated in.

They are slow to recover, the strain harsher than what's come before.

Raven is the first to recover, quickly moving over to her girlfriend and pulling her to her side.

A blue glow surrounds them, and Jinx's panting eases.

"No wonder you were so good. You really got the magic touch, Rae," the hex caster says with a light moan.

"Flatterer," Raven returns with a bright blush.

"Yep. Now, c'mon, the sooner you show off your trophy, the sooner we can get to sweating for a much better reason."

Grinning, Raven pulls them away from her mind, not missing the amused expression on her yellow clone's face.

Slowly standing, the empath gives Jinx a deep kiss, ending it at their mutual moan.

"I shall be back _hopefully_ shortly, as long as you have no objections."

"I'm objectin' to you leavin' in the first place. Now go before I decide to detain you."

Smiling, Raven falls through another portal, the goblet gripped in her hand.

As soon as she rises in the common room, her smile vanishes, finding Nightwing and Zatanna sitting on the couch, their heads whipping to face her as her feet audibly land on the carpet.

The demoness bites back a hiss at the emotions that assault her from the two, and she leans heavily on sarcasm to hide it.

"I present Elizabeth Bathory's goblet. There's some poor humour in a vampire having this, and as comedy is Beast Boy's hobby, I decided to alleviate it of him."

Nightwing shoots to his feet, eyes narrowed. Zatanna, though, is the first to speak.

"That thing? It's barely got any power left in it. Considering the goblet's marked as incredibly dangerous, that can't be right," she argues.

"It appears he used it to heal himself. And to get more power. So he'd already taken a large chunk of its power. You know how terrible gold is for storing energy, Zatanna," she remarks, waving the goblet about nonchalantly.

"You fought him alone _again_?" Nightwing growls.

"Actually, no. The power, the blood he gained from drinking from it was linked to the goblet. I simply took it from him and drained the power from it into the universe to be recycled for something less dangerous. As soon as it was weakened as you see now, the blood vanished and he turned into his former, scrawny self."

Zatanna stares silently at her, her suspicion and disbelief rolling in crashing waves against the empath's mental barriers.

"As a bonus, I found an amulet and spear that were also on the list where I found him. They were non-magical, as it turns out, except for the ugly emotions in them. They're currently resting in their former homes."

"Good work?" Nightwing asks, unable to hide his surprise at the utterly chatty psychic. "I think this puts us roughly a quarter through the list."

"Hang on," Zatanna interrupts. "Who has him in custody?"

"Deathstroke is my guess. Inertia seems to have some form of mental connection to the man, and he came running when I was in the process of knocking him unconscious. And I'd rather not become a workaholic, so you'll pardon me if I don't immediately start tracking him down now that he has no magical items. Two manhunts is just fine for one day."

Something seems to form in Zatanna's gaze, but it vanishes before the empath can even be sure it exists. In the wake of its disappearance, the sorceress's suspicion seems to vanish.

"Good enough. Get the cup to its former museum, and then take the night, Raven, you definitely earned it." Nightwing says in way of dismissal.

Raven frowns at the sense of _wrongness_, now coming from both of them as opposed to solely Zatanna. The sense of guilt at her arrival is not missed, either.

Without another word, she disappears once again, sending the goblet to the storage of its new host mid-transit.

When she arrives at Jinx's home, her bad mood quickly evaporates, a phenomena she can certainly become accustomed to…  
*************************

_Author's Notes_:

I can now officially call this a fan novel, and I've been writing it for only six days at this point (or, with concrete terms, as of August 15th). It's a lot longer for you guys and gals because if I don't pace myself on the updates, I'll end up feeling like I need to rush to get the chapters out by their deadlines, and I'm enjoying the pace that, as of this point, has put me eight weeks ahead of schedule with it. I am definitely using this method of writing for my own stories, since it clearly works for me.

At any rate, I hope you are thoroughly enjoying yourselves thus far. Whether you are or aren't, let me know. See you next time!


	18. Threat

Threat

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

_1 month later…_

Raven's sleeping mind begins to stir, a strange, alien presence forming in its depths.

The comfort of her lover's arms, a pleasantry she had quickly become accustomed to, is not enough to fight the evil of the presence.

Outwardly, her body begins sweating heavily while a look of discomfort takes form.

In her mind, though, a storm brews.

Fiery red eyes burn in a black sky, a thought long-since buried rising as lava and smoke surrounds Raven, no land to be seen anywhere.

A rumbling growl sounds through the smoke, and a blast of black lightning rips its way through the miasma.

The scene in her mind jarringly shifts, the image of a man she'd read in one of Richard's files to be Vandal Savage taking form.

He is running around a barren landscape, ducking low in hunt of his prey, a large feline creature of some kind.

With a roar, he lunges at the beast, too focused on his newest meal to notice the brilliant flash of light in the sky.

By the time he notices its shadow, a dead sabertooth tiger at his feet, the meteor strikes.

Instead of the certain death expected of an impact of such scale at such a close range, the savage crawls out of the crater with green smoke rising from his body.

As he lets out a primal roar, the scene shifts once more.

A large man garbed in mountaineering equipment slams away at the ground with a pickaxe.

Seeming to find something of value, a large smile forms on his lips, and he begins hacking away at the strangely colored ground.

Yet another transition takes place just as he's pulling his discovery up.

Now Raven watches as a woman stands over a burning laser, sparks shooting upward from a mass of strange, white rock.

Time seems to move in fast-forward, the rock breaking down and melting into a bizarre, sparkling white liquid. The liquid immediately starts steaming as it pours through a sieve-live device into a metal tube.

Steam fills Raven's vision, and when it clears, the woman holds up a solid, shining white ring, shot through with black dots.

The scene changes one last time, Raven finding herself in a museum. A glass display case lies shattered on the ground, and a tall, thin shadow is spotted running out into an alleyway.

With a gasp, Raven's eyes open as her head beats a manic rhythm inside her chest.

"_I do not have visions_," she mentally growls.

"_**Father does**_," a rumbling voice argues. "_**At least pertaining to the plane which he occupies.**_"

"_And I am _not_ Trigon, Rage."_

_"__**No, something for which we are all glad, I'm sure. But your defeat of him may have set a course for his powers to move to a new host.**_"

"_Energy doesn't break down, it simply moves elsewhere, as our recent treatment of the artifacts has surely drilled into you,"_ Wisdom chimes in.

With a slight growl, Raven forces herself to leave her mental conference, thinking on the images shown to her.

A light purring sound brings her attention to her side, and she finds herself staring into the sleeping face of her girlfriend.

The world _adorable_ is one not in Raven's lexicon. And yet, she finds no other word fitting to use to describe Jinx's slumbering face, a smile curving her slightly parted lips and her nose scrunched.

Pleasure, and many other warm feelings, roll away from the slumbering sorceress, doing quick work of dampening Raven's bad mood, if not her exhaustion.

Deciding not to let her experience ruin Jinx's good dream, she slowly falls into a portal beneath her, coming up in a silent crouch on the floor next to the bed.

With a grunt, Jinx's arms wrap around a pillow and hugs it to herself.

Her face contorts as something bothers her in her sleep, and slowly, one eye blearily opens.

Groaning, she rolls over and stares pointedly at the clock before returning her tired gaze to the standing empath.

"Nuh-uh. Too early. Getcher' sweet ass back'ere," she mumbles.

Raising an eyebrow at her, Raven feels a familiar smile forming.

"Down, girl. I need to send a quick message. A minute at most."

"Too many words. Ya ain't back here by then, I'm not gonna' be a happy Jinx," the woman mutters, already in the process of falling back asleep.

Smiling, Raven picks up Rachel Roth's cell phone and quickly types a message to Gizmo, telling him the details of her dream and to look into if the ring exists at all.

"Couldn't even make it half a minute, with such a tempting offer right here," Raven mutters with a false sigh.

With the same grin on both women's faces, she once again crawls into Jinx's warm embrace, laughing when the woman wraps her legs and arms around her and nuzzles her head into her neck.

"Goin' nowhere," she mutters.

"Such fine incentive," Raven laughs.

Just as Raven begins falling back to sleep in the comfortable hold, the cell phone begins vibrating, sounding not unlike a buzzsaw against the wood it rests upon.

Jinx gives a groan, opening an eye to glare accusingly at her.

"If that ain't a present for me, I'm gonna' beat sense inta' who's callin' at oh-dark-thirty," she mumbles.

Too tired to fight her blush, Raven sends a mental limb out and floats the phone above them, entirely too comfortable to get up again.

It flips open with an audible click, and she sighs as she reads the information.

"Well, I'm here, so that kinda' makes who's keepin' me awake a short list."

Raven ignores her and reads over the lengthy text from Gizmo. What she finds does not help her relax and go back to sleep.

Evidently, there had been a few dozen magical rings stolen over the long heists, but with his usual talent at research, and aid of the D.M.A. database, made short work of the lead.

One ring on the planet was made from a meteorite, and it belongs to Vandal Savage.

Or _belonged_, until he for whatever reason lost it and it ended up in a Gotham museum.

Surprisingly, from what he's gathered, the ring was stolen less than a week ago, and it didn't fit the description of how the other items were stolen, as if unrelated.

"Jinx, you can shut up and go back to sleep or you can continue complaining and you'll have to join me with getting ready for the day at _oh-dark-thirty_, as you so eloquently put it."

"It's work," Jinx groaned. "Damnit, woman, even villains get rest."

"I took all of today off to remain in your company," Raven deadpans. "Rest doesn't necessarily include sleep."

Jinx groans again, slowly releasing her hold on her.

"What is it? If it ain't urgent, I ain't gettin' off this bed, whether you do or not."

Smirking, Raven runs her hand through her girlfriend's hair, watching as she shivers in appreciation.

"I had a dream. I'll spare the details, but suffice it to say I got a potential lead from it."

Her cell phone falls from the air into her open hand, her eyes scanning further down the report.

"Vandal Savage, if you're unaware, is an immortal supervillain. I only know about him because of a discussion I had at one point on whether immortality is truly a thing that can be achieved with someone who knew of him. Evidently, he at some point had a ring made from the meteorite that granted him immortality. It apparently was stolen from Gotham a short time ago, and it is a very dangerous thing to have lying around."

Jinx becomes more alert at that, her curiosity rearing its ugly head.

"How recent?"

"Recent enough that Gizmo believes it's still in Gotham's boundaries… And his source appears to have been unable to tell him who stole it, which seems to make him think he or she knows and is just too scared to give anything concrete."

"This means we're going to Gotham again, doesn't it?" Jinx asks, glaring sleepily at her lover.

"Not just a pretty face, if there was ever any doubt," Raven remarks, quickly kissing her before she can retort.

When she pulls back, Jinx gives a sigh between her panting breaths and both women sit up.

"Alright, alright, I could see why this'd be important enough to not've waited a few hours. Still, I _must_ be doing something horribly wrong if you can dream about things other'n me."

Raven doesn't comment on the statement, simply laughing as she stands up.

A shower quickly follows, with Raven eventually kicking Jinx out so she can actually remove the meta's scent from herself.

As Raven heads out, she presses another kiss onto her lips, and it's with a blush that she materializes in her room in the Tower.

She had given up feeling guilty about lying to Nightwing quickly after finding out how enjoyable her time with the hex caster was becoming.

Not for the first time, she moves out of her room as though there the entire time, Nightwing the only one in the Tower awake.

Or, that's how it usually is. As she rounds the corner leading to the common room, though, she finds Kori, Zatanna, and Cyborg all with him, as well.

Steeling herself, she floats into the room and gives a yawn, not nearly as false in nature as she wishes.

"_I really should've just given it two hours. Not like the vision was going anywhere,"_ she grouses internally.

"Morning," she sighs, moving to prepare her tea.

"Any word on Inertia or Deathstroke?" Nightwing asks in greeting.

"Not that I've heard. But I'll keep an ear out when I'm in Gotham today."

"You're gettin' to be as bad as Nightwing," Cyborg laughs.

"Not intentionally," she shrugs. "And did those tips pay off?"

Raven had decided, after weeks of becoming more irritated with Nightwing's suspicions and Zatanna's odd behavior, that it would be best to give them leads Gizmo gathered.

As long as they found the items and didn't question her on where the leads came from, Raven had found it to be very useful for getting their leader's attention off of suspecting her of something she has yet to discern.

"Yeah. I got ta' meet Green Lantern," the metal man proclaims proudly. "Apparently he wasn't happy something belonging to that planet their power comes from was just sittin' unprotected."

"Fascinating. Zatanna, when you do eventually return to the League, you really must get on starting some magical organization within to keep their eyes on these things," Raven throws over her shoulder.

Her expression gives nothing away as the sorceress's irritation quickly permeates the air.

"At any rate, Gotham…?" Nightwing prompts.

"Ah, yes. While I was out yesterday, an associate brought to my attention that just approximately three days ago, a magical ring was lifted from a museum there. I think it's probably still in-town, and the way he described it, it may simply be an opportunist rather than whatever we've been dealing with. Might as well go and check it out."

"You sure? It might make looking faster if someone goes with you," Nightwing reasons.

"I cannot. I, too, have gotten _the lead_, from a people on a planet not far from here. It may be related to the Intergang you believe may have something to do with the robberies," Koriand'r interjects.

Raven's eyes widen as a strange sense of relief fills the air in the room, centered around Nightwing and Zatanna.

"_You're overthinking things. He's not that stupid_," Raven mentally growls, stomping down an unfortunately reasonable and growing suspicion.

"And BB and I got called last night. We're headin' out to Steel City soon as he's up to give Bumble Bee and the guys some help with some problems. Apparently just cause Jump's criminals are smart doesn't mean their's are."

"And Zatanna has a show in an hour, if I'm not mistaken. And you need to stay here to deal with calling us all back if something big comes up. You were saying?" Raven adds with an upraised eyebrow.

"Alright. You sure it won't be a problem working as a team again, when all this settles down?" their leader asks.

"I foresee no issues," Raven partially lies, thoughts of Jinx immediately coming to her mind.

"Alright. Track the lead down, call if you get into trouble," he sighs.

Raven keeps her mask in place as his exasperation slips, the irritation and powerful sense of suspicion rising in a torrent in its wake.

She nods and returns to her room, promptly falling into a trance to regain her lost sleep…  
*************

Zatanna sits resting against Nightwing, frowning at the thoughts rolling around in her mind.

"You can't really think that she's got some contact network that keeps feeding her these objects, Richard," she states.

His eyes narrow, the ever-present fog on both their minds amplifying his paranoid tendencies.

"I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. She's gotten… _distant_. More than when we first started the group, even. I won't say it's impossible that she _does_ know plenty of questionable people, especially with how much time she keeps disappearing from the grid over the last few months."

Her hand grips his forearm, a frown curling her lips.

"Oh, come _on_, Dick. You're thinking the same thing I am."

"She's not the only person who can slip undetected into places all over the world," Nightwing sighs. "I'd prefer to work my way through the _thieves_ with that talent, before I accuse my teammates of anything."

"Uh-huh. That's why you've got those-"

"That and this are unrelated," he cuts in. "Strictly precautionary. Distrusting someone and treating them as a threat are different."

He meets her gaze, her determined glare bringing a sigh from the former Boy Wonder.

"Weren't you complaining I'm getting to be too much like Bruce just a month ago? Look in a mirror, Zee."

"I think you look at me enough for a lifetime, thanks," she remarks, laughing when he blushes.

Her mirth vanishes and she leans into him, her index finger poking the plate covering his chest.

"She was lying through her teeth, Richard. She had to be. With her habits of late, wouldn't she have immediately headed out to look for this thing yesterday when she heard about it if that was true?"

With a sigh, Nightwing presses down on the bridge of his nose, desperately trying to stay the forming headache.

"Alright, Zee. Point… Keep out of her senses. Do not intervene, and do not interfere with anything she does in Gotham. If she really looks like she needs help, jump in, but otherwise, just… keep an eye on her…"

Zatanna nods and quickly vanishes in a cloud of smoke, the cloud covering her mind quickly transforming her suspicion to anger as she goes...  
*************

_Author's Notes_:

On the pacing of the story, I originally had it scripted out for all of part 1 (prologue to chapter 24) take place within one month. I decided around chapter 14 that that time frame would be really rushed for all the events going on around Raven. So sorry for the time skipping.

Things in part 1 are coming to a head, and I hope you're as excited about reading it as I am writing it. Either way, be sure to let me know. See you next time!


	19. Mind Games

Mind Games

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven and Jinx work their way once again through the streets of Gotham, memories of their last adventure visibly making Jinx tense.

Currently, Raven's eyes are glowing black, seeing something that Jinx's own cannot no matter how much she tries.

"You're going to give yourself a headache," Raven warns without gazing at her.

"Yeah? We'll see. I'm still thinking of ways to make sure this is the last time you wake up because of some weird not-vision instead of replaying our activities before you fell asleep."

"Getting a tad presumptuous, Jinx. When this heist stuff is done with, I don't imagine we'll be able to see each as often while you're on other operations."

A pain suddenly makes itself known to Raven, amplified by Jinx's own mirror of the emotion.

"Then that just gives me… what? Two years, at the rate things are going? I can totally wear you down into joining the dark side by then," the hex caster laughs.

"The _dark side_? Really?"

"Hey, what I do is positively black compared to what bird-brain's world view is," Jinx returns with a shrug.

"_Am I sure of that_?" Raven mentally questions.

"Yes, and by that logic, our last visit here would put me on a list with Deathstroke for him. I'd really rather not entertain that thought."

She focuses back on her search, the trail from the museum gradually getting stronger.

"Point still stands. 'Sides, I told you when we first started hanging out that with your talents, I could get you at least an interview with a snap a' my fingers."

"Either way, we won't have to discuss this seriously for quite some time. I rather like things as they stand, Zatanna and Nightwing notwithstanding."

A strange sense of foreboding comes and goes in seconds through the psychic, a cold sweat suddenly breaking out.

Ignoring it, she turns down an empty street, stomach tightening in tension as the end of the trail quickly approaches.

"Ya' know, I think it'd be worth it just so you didn't always hafta' make an end-run in the morning so bird-brain don't figure out you prefer the company of yours truly than him an' the witch. Oh, speakin' of-"

"I'd rather not think about it at the moment. Them, not you. I'd much prefer you on my mind than the fight we're undoubtedly walking into," she adds quickly to her girlfriend's shock.

"Awe, sweet-talker," Jinx laughs, pressing into her side and laying a kiss on her cheek.

Blushing, Raven's expression turns serious, a finger rising to her lips.

Jinx's mirth instantly vanishes, a professional mask sliding into place as the two take up a spot on the wall near a warehouse door.

Ever so slowly, Raven offsets the lock with her soul-self, the door sliding silently open as it's pushed forward.

Raven's eyes widen as she looks at the interior.

It seems to be a warehouse storing construction materials. What catches the psychic's attention is the bed set in the dead center of the large room, a man resting on it.

A strange light emanates from the man's brain, held in a glass case atop his split head.

And on Psimon's finger rests the ring, exactly how it looked in her dream.

_"Vision_," Wisdom's voice argues. "_Proof is in front of your eyes that you weren't imagining something_."

Raven ignores the voice and noiselessly slides through the door, Jinx following her with just as little noise.

Her pink eyes glow like neon in the darkened warehouse, but Psimon's sleeping expression reveals no notice of the light.

The women slowly approach him from both sides, making sure to make no noise.

But where they can both be silent as ghosts, Raven's mind keeps her hidden from the man's psychic detection, a part of her nature that had long become automatic.

Jinx, as skilled as she has become from working and training with Raven, possesses no such psychic subtlety.

Just as Raven's soul-self reaches out to attempt slipping the ring from the man's finger, Psimon's eyes snap open, a smirk forming as he takes their appearance in.

The ring on his finger glows sinisterly, his ashen skin taking the faint red color.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise. Raven, right? And… I don't know you," he sniffs dismissively at Jinx.

A flare of light goes through his eyes, and a pleased smile forms that sends ripples of revulsion through the women.

"Ah, that makes quite the picture, then. Who am I to question what Ms. Diaz chooses to associate with herself? Was it a wise move, do you guess, to bring along someone with you whose mind I could turn into _quite_ the mess?" he laughs.

A hiss sounds in the back of Raven's throat, and Jinx feels a pressure in her head relax before she even knew it existed.

"I'd thank you to keep your filth away from either of our heads. I know how much you would prefer not to _offend_ me. Make this easy on yourself and give me the ring, Psimon," Raven states, stepping threateningly towards him.

"So _confident_! You know that aside from incapacitating you, I couldn't fight you when I was aiding the Brotherhood, correct? Of course you do. You do pay _so much attention_ to things of this nature, I imagine. But I'm willing to wager that you are utterly unaware of things as they currently stand," he adds with a sinister edge to his voice.

Jinx stares confused between the two, completely lost on how they know each other.

"_This is becoming way too much of a habit!" _Jinx internally snarls, memories of Sebastian Blood rising.

"Uh… Raven, what the hell?"

She doesn't remember Psimon, given that she was preoccupied during the Titans' assault, but it had never occurred to her that some villains would actively avoid the Titan, or have a reason to even think of doing so.

Given her acknowledging nod to her girlfriend, Jinx knows that Raven will be giving her answers after the threat is dealt with.

"I _do _know, Psimon. Or at least, I know that you're no longer as cautious as you should be. Let me assure you that your confidence is misplaced."

"Oh? Is that so? Well, you'll pardon me if I don't start quivering. Without _him_ around, you should know your powers alone cannot stand a chance. Powerful though you may be, you've got nothing on me."

At that, a smirk crosses Raven's lips and her eyes gain an unearthly glow. As the room seems to dim around her body, some of Psimon's confidence visibly vanishes.

"If I caused his downfall alone, what do you think I can do to _you_, Psimon, were I to not hold back? He could wipe your powers away with a thought, and _I_ beat _him_. Your confidence is misplaced."

Something tickles at the back of Jinx's mind. As she watches Raven's growing amusement, the words of Brother Blood return with a snap.

"_He said it was patricide. She's talking about killing her old man... Who the hell was her father_?" she questions, staring at her girlfriend.

"Ha! At best a fluke, at worst an assisted suicide. He _was _getting on in his years. I'd say that my powers work better than ever proves _your_ arrogance is out of touch with the reality of this situation, _Raven_."

His own eyes gain a glow similar to Raven's, and Jinx rushes to her side, letting her hex magic flow.

With a glance between the two women, they move into action, running to either side of the man. Both bring their hands together with sparks of their unique energies as bolts leave them.

As the black and pink energies approach, the bed he had rested on suddenly lifts itself from the floor.

The energies meet the barrier with an explosion of multi-colored sparks.

By the time the dust is cleared, an invisible force makes itself known, slamming into Jinx's chest.

With a grunt, she slams into the concrete and begins seeing black spots.

In the process of forcing herself back up, she sees a large sheet of metal spinning through the air at her, looking not unlike a saw blade at its speed.

Before it can decapitate her, a black coating forms overtop the metal, and it reverses course, the air screaming in resistance as it spins back at Psimon.

With a bored wave of his hand, he slams the sheet upward, an echoing _clang_ sounding as it implants into the roof.

A dark, ugly burst of red light rises from the ring, a similar glow filling his eyes.

More construction materials follow the first sheet, multiples of them snapping into thousands of jagged metal spikes.

Raven appears next to Jinx and they both begin throwing their power out, destroying the blades as they come.

Jinx feels her girlfriend's hand on her shoulder, and they sink into the ground through a portal just as the skewers reach them.

A hex bolt flies at the man's back as soon as they come out behind him, a fiery black fist going with it.

A large chunk of wood launches in an arc over him, exploding into splinters that follow its path when the attacks hit.

Raven moves into a spin, throwing the chunks with a large black shield to plant into the wall nearest them.

With a growl, Jinx cups her hands together, her eyes and palms flaring with a brilliant light.

Sensing her girlfriend's plan, she tightens her hold on her shoulder and places her free hand overtop hers.

"Azarath Metrion _Zinthos_!"

Her eyes flare with black light, the energy mixing between the hex caster's closed palms and making the pink glow within almost purple.

"_**Ustulo**_!" Jinx shouts before pushing the built energy out.

The purple ball explodes in the air, becoming a mass of flames of the same color.

Psimon watches with increasingly visible anger as the flames circle him, trapping him in place.

"The ring, if you would, Psimon," Raven states with a raised hand.

His eyes widen, and Raven grunts as he mentally assaults her, her barriers keeping him out, but with more effort than expected.

"The ring gives me all I need to beat you, witch," he laughs as his assault strengthens.

"Azarath Metrion _Zinthos_!"

Raven's eyes turn obsidian, and the air seems to shimmer between the two as his mental reach is shoved back.

Suddenly, he ducks down and lets the power flow past him, focusing an attack on Jinx.

The hex caster grunts as he pushes at her fire, sweat beading on her forehead as she fights to keep him trapped and out of her mind both.

A sneer mars his expression, and a loud series of grating noises reaches her ears.

Before Jinx can call out a warning, a solid piece of metal zooms into her view and smashes into her stomach, making her feet leave the ground as it throws her back.

Raven follows her arc as a sharp pain takes form in her chest.

A wave of black light flows across the ground beneath the soaring hex caster, and when it's fully beneath her it rises.

She immediately comes to a stop, being gently lowered to the ground.

By the time Raven's attention turns back to Psimon, it's too late.

"Psimon says _sleep_," he intones, barely a foot from her.

His hand slams into her forehead, and through the jarring sensation, he slips past her defenses, both psychics going utterly still.

Jinx recovers quickly and flips back to her feet, ready to attack.

Her heart rate spikes as she takes in their still forms, a sense of dread quickly flooding her.

When she runs forward, attempting to remove Psimon from her girlfriend, an invisible wall slams into place.

When she meets it, it reacts as a spring, throwing her back to the ground with a groan…  
***********************

Psimon floats above Raven, a grin on his face.

Raven rises from her crouch, an audible growl rising from the back of her throat.

"Get. out," she snarls, the red speckling in the air seeming to grow brighter.

"Oh, I don't think so. I've always wondered what a demon's mind might look like. You were going on so proudly about killing the old man, I found myself curious what you have locked up in here."

His eyes move around the landscape, a sniff of disappointment sounding.

"I was expecting more hellfire."

Raven rises to her full height, Psimon's eyes widening as speckling similar to what covers the obsidian sky forms in her violet eyes.

"You were better off outside of my mind, Psimon. Here, I have the power."

She rises off the ground, her body pulsing with black sparks in time with her breaths.

"You're delightfully deluded, my dear, dim, demi-demon. Your power cannot even enter the scope of mine, without the power your dear daddy gave you to be his portal. We're in your mind, but the mental domain is _mine_."

The ring flares with bright, crimson light which quickly coats his entire body.

In an instant, Raven falls to the ground under a crushing pressure.

The landscape begins to waver, and a groan of pain leaves her as Psimon's hand takes a firm grip on her hair.

"What _does_ a demon fear in their slumber, I wonder? Let's find out!"

Raven's mouth opens in a silent scream as his power takes hold, ripping things up from the darkest corners of her mind.

Her vision blackens for a moment, and when it clears once more, her worst fear lies before her.

Raven stares at herself, her mirror image garbed in a dark purple ballroom gown. Her skin is like fire, seeming not quite orange nor red, but having strong hints of both.

Where nails should be, daggers of black rest, gleaming hideously in the light cast by the sky above, a black and red reflection of Nevermore.

Four red slits for eyes stare into the distance, seeming to be looking for something.

Beneath her rests a throne based on a pile of stone bodies, horror and revulsion ripping through the real Raven at the familiar faces making up their ranks.

In a large circle around the throne's base lies the corpse of Malchior, seeming to send a message of some kind.

At the edges of his body, the ground drops sharply into a flowing moat of lava, sending oily black steam into the air where it meets and eats into the concrete surrounding it.

"Oh, so _that_'s your intent. _Fascinating_," Psimon states with a tug on her hair.

Unwillingly, Raven looks where he wants her attention, and her stomach empties itself then, no longer able to hold itself.

Jinx lies off to the side of the body pile, leaning against it as if it were a comfortable body pillow.

Her eyes stare blankly into the distance, and on her forehead rests an ugly, black mark, as if the Mark of Skaath had been burned into her forehead and healed over to keep it there.

Raven snaps her eyes shut, violently jerking her head side to side in denial.

The pressure of her fear begins crushing down on her, seeming to bury her gradually into the ground at her feet.

"You're wrong!" she screams, a pulse of rage flooding her mind.

Psimon's eyes widen as he looks down on her, an amused smirk on his face.

"_Am_ I?" he asks.

Raven's eyes open again to find her own skin matching her mirror's, a familiar burning in her forehead bringing her extra set of eyes to her attention.

"_-en"_

Raven casts her gaze around, looking for the source of the sudden and out of place sound.

Outside of her mind, Jinx slams more and more of her hex energy into the barrier, screaming Raven's name. The pink light is enough to set off multiple detectors in the area, even Zatanna wincing from where she watches.

"_This isn't good. I couldn't stop things down there if I wanted to,_" she mentally hisses, not paying any attention to the vice-like fog keeping her from acting to help the women.

Jinx doesn't know what is happening in her girlfriend's mind, but her convulsing body and the red hue to her is making it very much something to worry about.

Slowly, her screams slither their way past Psimon's hold, reaching Raven in the illusion.

"_**He makes a fool of us!"**_ a voice snarls deep in her mind, the sound ripping the rest of the fog away in an instant.

Psimon immediately releases his hold as she stands, her body seeming to grow taller by the second.

The illusionary copy disappears in a flash of black light, Jinx's body and the throne vanishing with it.

Her lips split in a snarl, her teeth audibly grinding as she moves towards him.

"You thought to make me afraid of you, Psimon? Assumed me to be one of your victims who would cower when shown your illusions? I'll tell you something about demons. Even a halfling like me doesn't become _afraid_ of your tricks. We get _**angry**_," she snarls, her voice sending a tremble through the ground on the last word.

Instantly, the rest of the illusion crashes in Psimon's fear.

He casts his gaze around in confusion, finding them standing in a volcanic landscape similar and yet very different to her fear.

"You think I'm that creative? That it was a _trick_!? You give me far too much credit. I merely brought to the surface what is already in your own mind, Raven. You seem far better fit for Chaos's side, rather than playing hero, if this is the kind of thing you worry about."

Both are impressed with the man's acting talent, no trace of his absolute terror showing in his voice.

His eyes widen in mock surprise, his hope to throw her off telegraphing itself clearly to her rage-enhanced senses.

"I understand, now. You always try to build some form of karmic credit up so your soul may yet be saved when you turn on everything and everyone you love and hold dear!"

He jumps when another presence makes itself known, a Raven cloaked in red and sporting yet another pair of four red eyes appearing at his side.

"_**You've talked quite enough, father's plaything,"**_ the red Raven states, her voice sending chills through his very soul.

"I quite agree," Raven says, letting her anger take reign.

Her hand extends, and the moment her Rage makes contact, the volcanoes around them explode in sprays of lava.

Psimon grunts and brings a barrier to form as fire rains from the sky, rocks quickly melting under the heat.

Raven now stands alone, a cruel smile on her lips and black flames rolling from her eyes.

"Azarath-"

"Wait! I'll give you the ring!" Psimon pleads, raising his hands in placation.

"_Metrion_-"

He frantically pulls his power to bear, attempting to break his hold on her and leave her body.

"_**Zinthos**_**!" **Raven screams, her voice echoing and sending a violent tremor through the fiery hellscape.

Black power lashes out, and suddenly torrents of molten lava launch past her body, moving like living snakes towards the man's astral form.

A scream rips from him as the assault lands, and just as he begins to die, a flash of light goes off where his body stood.

Raven's eyes snap open immediately, Psimon's mental hold utterly gone.

She is vaguely aware of Jinx's screaming, and the weight of Savage's ring in her palm.

Four eyes glow pure white as they watch Psimon's retreat, a crack clearly visible against the glass covering his visible brain. White smoke rises from the crack, and his pain leaves a distinct presence in the air.

Her eyes and body shift back to their normal appearance as she separates Rage once more.

As soon as he's out of view, Raven falls to her knees, finally noticing the blood spurting from her nose and the various breaks and tears in her skin.

"_He almost killed me… First Sebastian and now Psimon, both have used my weakness to nearly cause me to kill myself… Something needs to be done,"_ she says, her voice meeting with agreement in her mind.

Suddenly, she feels Jinx's arms around her, and her shredded barriers give with a snap.

Tears begin rushing past the broken dam, and before she's aware of herself, her head is pressed into Jinx's shoulder, her body shuddering violently in her firm embrace…  
***********************

_Author's Notes_:

Psimon, or Dr. Simon Jones, originally got his powers when, due to his research in dimensions, he made a deal with Trigon. I kind of unintentionally started writing his dialogue in alliteration and rhyme, and decided to go with it, because I only vaguely remember how he actually talks.

Ustulo- Latin for the verbs "Burn," "Burn up," or "Scorch," take your pick

As for everything else, I had a lot of fun writing the psychic battle, and I hope you all had just as much fun reading it. Either way, be sure to let me know. See you next time!


	20. Treachery

Treachery

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Jinx holds the shaking empath tightly to her, gently running a hand through her purple hair and making soothing murmurs.

"_This cannot continue,"_ Raven growls in her mind.

"_Your control has slipped from the moment you began your liaisons with Jinx. This result is only surprising in how long it took to achieve it, and that you actually slipped enough for _Psimon_ to get in here and humiliate you,"_ Wisdom's voice whispers back.

"_I think you should just stop thinking so hard and do what we should have done years ago,"_ a higher and more upbeat voice chimes.

As Raven ponders this, her body ceases shaking, and slowly, her senses return to the world around her.

"Rae, talk to me. What the hell did he do to you? I couldn't get you away from him, and then his barrier drops and he gives this scream, and you start lookin' like you're bout to have a seizure, and-"

"_I was not the only one who may have been killed. And likewise I should have known she would be fine enough to not let him distract me enough to get past my blocks. When I arrive in Nevermore, all of you had better be at the forum. We have things to discuss. Incompleteness will not be the cause for my death."_

Many affirmations rise in her mind, and Raven tunes them out to focus on her panicking girlfriend.

"Jinx, let's get out of here," she interrupts.

Jinx stares at her with wide eyes, a slow nod her only reaction before blackness wraps around the two.

When they come up through her floor, Jinx immediately moves to the couch and stares at Raven.

Said psychic kneels before her, gently grasping her hands and holding her gaze.

"The time I mentioned, weeks ago? I can't expect you to wait any longer for the answers to your questions, which I'm sure number greatly. I do not know what you witnessed while I was entrapped, but I can surmise that separating right now may not be the best idea. I must, nonetheless, selfishly ask for half an hour reprieve, to get ready to bear my soul, as it were."

"Raven, you looked like you were going to die," Jinx interrupts. "I was throwing everything I had at whatever Psimon had around you, but I couldn't do a damn thing, and you were bleeding, and turning freaking _red_, and-"

"You saved me," Raven argues. "I… Psimon brought some things to light I'd thought dead and forgotten in my mind. If I had to guess, my… _transformation_… and my bleeding were the results of my mind being crushed by the darkness. Your voice pulled me out of that."

Jinx's eyes widen at that, Raven not so much as blinking.

"I need to give a report before Nightwing discovers our fight through other means as he did with Sebastian. Half an hour at most, and I will answer fully your every question. If our visits to Gotham have taught me anything, it is that I cannot continue as I have been."

Jinx squeezes her hands, looking for something in her gaze.

"There's more than just what you didn't tell me about Brother Blood and what Psimon did to you, isn't there?"

"While I'm gone, it may be prudent to hunt down any sources of alcohol you have here," Raven responds, a grim look taking her girlfriend's expression.

Raven hesitantly presses a kiss to her lips, her own fear alleviating somewhat when she eagerly responds.

With only a moment of hesitation, she shifts through dimensions and steps into the Titans Tower.

She quickly finds Nightwing in his and Kori's room, typing away furiously on a computer.

He doesn't acknowledge her presence, but his emotions tell her he's aware of it.

"The item I went to search for was in the hands of Psimon. A ring. He didn't seem connected to our thieves. I was, surprisingly, subdued by him, long enough for him to escape my grasp. The item is moderately powerful, but not one on our lists, as would be expected with how recent the theft is."

His suspicion slams into her as a physical force, her already weakened barriers doing nothing to stay the mental assault.

"How did he manage to subdue you? You're far stronger than him," he says with a growling quality to his tone.

Glaring at him, Raven senses warning bells going off in her mind that are as unhelpful at identifying their source as she has become accustomed to with the man.

"An illusion, which he used directly after keeping my mind occupied with attacks on multiple fronts. The nightmare from long ago was… _unpleasant_… and difficult to break free from."

His chair swivels, and she meets his hidden glare with her stoic mask in place.

"I can't think of many things that would do that to you. Should I be worried?"

"It was… when we destroyed Trigon, for weeks I had a thought plaguing my mind. The question of what would have happened if you had not found me and convinced me to fight against him after his arrival. What would have happened if I had not fought for my powers and my home. It was a silly thought, but it was enough to distract me while he escaped. I'll be ready next time."

"Make sure you are," he agrees.

The warnings in Raven's mind become louder, and the feeling of his suspicion give them credence. Once more, she finds herself wondering what the sense of _wrong_ about the man is.

As she prepares to leave, Zatanna appears in a burst of smoke.

When the two are together, Raven's mind becomes further assaulted. An increasingly familiar emotion sparks in the air between the two, seeming somehow twisted and _wrong_ compared to Jinx's own.

Anger immediately blossoms in Raven's heart, anger on behalf of the off-world Koriand'r, and anger at herself having had faith in Nightwing's intelligence.

To the pair, though, she shows nothing, giving them nothing to sense as her barriers slam back into place.

Something else distracts the psychic, though, an unexpected hostility smacking like raging tide against her tender blocks.

When Nightwing reads something into the sorceress's expression, his own emotions begin taking on the hostile quality.

"_If I didn't know better, I would say she suspects some great evil of me… And he seems to agree."_

An image of a bizarre, glowing iron cage fills her mind, and she immediately closes herself off so no more of her telepathy manages to reach them.

But the image is enough to cause a flash of thought to take form.

"If you'll excuse me," she says before floating away from the room.

As soon as she is in a blindspot of the camera watching the hallway, her soul-self flashes into existence around her.

The power quickly expands, and a black raven slides through the walls, placing her in the ventilation above Nightwing's room and masking her from Zatanna's detection.

"We need to talk," Zatanna growls, pointing her thumb at the door.

"I think we do," Nightwing agrees, quickly standing up.

As the pair leaves, Zatanna throws a glare at him.

"You'd better hope that damn cage is ready, Dick. Things are worse than we thought."

The words send a spike of worry through Raven, who brings her emotions as subdued as possible in the witch's presence.

When she feels their presences leave the Tower entirely, she slips through the metal and stands in front of Nightwing's computer.

A small spark of soul-self moves through the wall and sends her desired illusion of nothing amiss taking firm hold in the image camera monitoring his room.

Raven's soul-self extends, black hands flying across the keyboard of his computer faster than her own hands had any possibility of achieving.

Cracking the man whose mind she had shared in her youth is a simple matter, life secrets never spoken quickly giving rise to passwords as she digs into the mainframe of the Titans.

A folder suddenly catches her attention as she scans through. It is named innocuously enough, sounding like a dull blip of data nobody would ever have a point to look into.

But for her, the name is enough.

As the folder reveals its contents, horror and revulsion quickly ripple through Raven, her mask giving way to a snarl.

"You utter bastard," she hisses, reading quickly through document after document detailing his contingencies.

Each and every Titan on Earth is named in a document, and each one of them reveals the way in which her leader planned meticulously how to destroy them should they ever turn rogue.

"_Or piss him off_," she snarls internally.

Her own teammates' are the most detailed.

For Cyborg, a meticulously written virus engineered to make him blind and deaf in his mechanical elements, and routing the power away from his sonic cannon to disable his ability to fight.

For Beast Boy, simply overloading his senses until he is rendered unconscious.

As the others open for her, her eyes begin bleeding red, her mind quickly snapping reigns on her emotions lest she call the witch and her lover back.

Evidently, Nightwing had managed to obtain the manner of hand-cuffs that had originally rendered Starfire helpless on her arrival, which when combined with a drug that would make her, in his written words, _agreeable_, would render her helpless.

She vaguely notices Zatanna's surprising name among the documents, but she focuses on her own.

A hand flies over her mouth as she finally understands what _cage_ Zatanna had referred to.

A detailed blueprint for a cage constructed entirely of iron is what begins his plan, along with notes on how to properly wire electricity so as to keep her contained but not harmed. No doubt supplied by Zatanna, a detailed series of anti-magic, and very specific anti-demon, runes are drawn.

The cage would undoubtedly be enough to contain her.

But her stomach turns at the details of how to amplify a Belle Reve inhibitor collar, where to acquire a pair of iron handcuffs, and how to best gag her so as not to choke her but to keep her from using spells.

"_This plan would not just capture me. It would make a husk of me,_" she growls, unable to keep the rumbling sound from rising out of her throat.

Her body begins to violently shake, and with another growl, she quickly puts skills learned from observing both Cyborg and Gizmo into action.

All presence of her activity on the system vanish in a matter of key clicks, not wanting to give him so much as a hint that she's aware of his plan before she's enacted its ruination.

"You will know of how ill-thought your plan truly is, Richard, on this I swear," she snarls, her body quickly fading into a portal at her feet.

She steels her resolve, putting thoughts of preparation and revenge to the back of her mind in favor of readying for undoubtedly uncomfortable questions…  
**************************

_Author's Notes_:

I was hoping to avoid my dislike of Nightwing as a character coming through, but realistically, the man was raised by Batman and trained by a few unstable people, Deathstroke among them (in the cartoon, not sure on the comics). Anger issues, paranoia, and vile but effective contingency plans are kind of par for course. And the mysterious fog amplifying it all doesn't seem to be helping matters, either.

Hope you're all enjoying yourselves so far. Let me know what you do or don't like with my writing. See you next time!


	21. Trust

Trust

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven rises from her portal to find Jinx incredibly nervous.

She sits on her couch in the same spot she had less than fifteen minutes prior, the only proof of her movement the open bottle of clear alcohol, a red mark naming the liquid facing her.

Next to the bottle lays the plastic that had, evidently, been wrapping it until recently.

Which is why it is worrying to see how much of the alcohol is missing from the bottle.

"Wanted to see how good my metabolism really is," Jinx explains in greeting.

Raven moves to the couch and pulls her into her arms, gently curling the pink tips of her hair.

"I'm sorry for not making myself clear, Jinx. I meant the alcohol for me. Given what I just discovered, I'm willing to find out how well I can suppress my faculties to allow what I understand is a very good way to forget things."

"Shoulda' told me that," Jinx mutters into her neck.

"I was distracted. You certainly worked through it quickly in my absence, though."

"It tastes really good. Not that it made me drunk enough to not feel like the Earth's 'bout to rip open under me," she adds, unintentionally aloud.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, my fear likely at least matches yours… So what question do you want to start with? As promised, anything is free game, and I swear I will answer completely truthfully for the entirety of this conversation."

The geas takes hold, both women shivering at the sensation.

"Were you planning on ever answering my questions before?"

Raven leans back into the couch, laying Jinx's head on her thighs as her hand strokes her hair.

"I was. As I said, I knew a time to explain everything would come, were I to wish to continue our work together, in regards to being a team, or girlfriends, or whatever else came… I have been meditating on it for the past month, and was getting ready to have this discussion anyways."

"But suddenly you decided you're ready today," Jinx adds.

"I… Because of my screw-ups, both with Sebastian and with Psimon, I not only put my own life at risk, but yours as well. I need to inform you of what you're getting into, if you decide afterwards to continue any capacity of our relationship."

"I would argue that was due to my not being able to stand up to their power, not you," the hex caster argues.

"You can handle Sebastian fine… I can't say that I was fully focused on Psimon, though. Just something we can work on if we're still working together after tonight."

"That's the third time you said somethin' like that, Rae. I'm gettin' worried."

"I'm… sorry. I'm a bit more pessimistic than I have reason to be, and it's directed at you despite you being in no way the cause. I will keep it quiet while you ask more questions."

Jinx nods in acceptance, gently rubbing circles with her index finger on the psychic's legs.

Raven forces her attention away from the pleasant shivers her attentions send through her, keeping her mind on the task at hand.

"So… how many eyes do you have?"

"I have two. Most of the time. In fact, very rarely do I have the four eyes that I assume you saw both times I've lost my control in front of you."

"Four red, glowing, terrifying eyes," Jinx muses.

"Yes, well, that is also a part of my genealogy."

"Okay, then I guess you want me to ask what, exactly, you are," Jinx tentatively offers.

"Want, no… Expect, yes… I... I am a demon."

Jinx tenses against her, her rigid body causing Raven to quickly continue.

"_Half-_demon, if I'm being technical. All of my oddness, the eyes, and undoubtedly the skin and terrible bloodlust you noticed with Sebastian are part of my nature, as is my soul-self."

Raven winces at the fear creeping through her girlfriend's mind.

"Half-demon, huh? Explains why you're so talented. So, what? Does your father work down in one of the Circles and took a holiday? Do you work for-"

"I do not answer to any demons," Raven growls, her anger quickly evaporating at her girlfriend's shock. "My father is not that kind of demon. Really, he has nothing to do with the Hell of this dimension, as far as I'm aware, but the term merely describes his appearance and personality…"

The geas presses on Raven's mind, and she fights a wince.

"My father is Trigon the Terrible."

Jinx immediately freezes against her girlfriend, her pink eyes slowly turning to meet the psychic's steady and somewhat watery gaze.

"Trigon… As in Demon Lord, makes and erases dimensions in a thought, civilization destroying god damn _Trigon_?"

"That's dad," Raven deadpans, her eyes betraying the crushing emotions hidden from her tone.

"Okay, trying not to freak. I wasn't expecting _that_. Um… well, that definitely explains how you're so unbelievably strong… Makes me wonder why you're one of the good guys, though."

Raven moves without thinking, kissing the woman as she finds far less terror than she had expected.

"I am not my father. I came to this dimension running from him, with the intent of finding a group capable of fighting with me to defeat him."

"Okay… I can see why you'd want to put off this explanation. Didn't you think giving me a heads-up would have made me better prepared to help if you ever lost it?"

Another wince forms on Raven's expression, this one having nothing to do with the geas.

"What brought me into existence should have no bearing on your opinion of me as a person. But I learned from Zatanna's prejudice when we met and the Titans' reactions to discovering it that this is not the normal reaction on this planet. I was… scared. I didn't want you to start believing me a monster."

Jinx sits up at that, a hurt expression on her face.

"It's freaky as shit, but you really thought I'd… what? Suddenly start attacking you? Raven-"

"No," Raven interrupts, forcing the tears welling in her eyes away. "I trust you more than that. I did not want you… afraid of me. The others remained my friend even after discovering what I am, but that does not mean they did not see me differently. I spent a lot of time after they found out repressing myself, making sure I did little to remind them that I am not solely human."

"You know me better than that," Jinx argues, her voice considerably softer than her previous statement.

Suddenly, her emotional repression when they were younger, and even when they had talked in the Angelique, makes a lot more sense to the hex caster.

That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, for more than one reason.

"I do," Raven agrees. "I… was raised in rejection. What my father was made the people of Azarath see me as an abomination, and I was raised in a temple where only a handful of the monks did not openly hate me whilst they all broke my mind and ensured I would be so in control of myself that he could never use me to bring their fears to fruition. I should have known better, but it is deeply engrained into my psyche, Jinx."

She isn't expecting the hex caster to pull her into a hunch and into her arms, but when she does, Raven immediately presses into the warm, comfortable embrace.

"If it's any consolation, when he attempted to take the Earth, I killed him. The others are not the only ones who were not fans of his work."

Snorting, Jinx presses a kiss to her forehead before allowing her to return to her upright position once more.

"Ya' weren't kiddin' about the extra-dimensional weirdness."

"I was not," Raven agrees, her worry over what question can reopen old wounds next rising in a wave.

Jinx's growing nervousness does not improve things.

"What didn't you tell me about the Church of Blood, and Sebastian?"

"I told you when we first began conversing that my legal name here is Rachel Roth, and that my mother's name was Angela Roth. That is not a cover story. Were I born on Earth, that would have been my name, instead of the single names of inhabitants of Azarath. She was a member of the Church."

The geas begins to burn in her mind as she takes a pause to collect herself.

"She was part of it for about a year, during which time their _god_ came to them. They called him Skaath, thought him an incarnation of the First of the Fallen. Fools even gave Trigon free opportunity to walk this planet, if only for a few hours. Unfortunately, they were enough for him to rape my mother in the plans of giving birth to a sire, a _gem_, which could act as a portal to give him access to here."

Jinx gasps at that, her eyes widening in horror as pain becomes clear across the woman's face.

"Sebastian is a successor of the Church. It is no surprise that he knows all of the details. It's also why he thinks me so _valuable_. Half-demon child to their god, any child I bore him would surely have incredible potential… That was why what happened happened in Gotham. I was raised by pacifists, but nothing has made me hate as that man and the abomination that his family started has made me hate."

"If it had been just you, would you have killed him?" Jinx asks, no judgment present in her voice or her mind.

"Possibly. At any rate, I certainly would have allowed him to fight for his survival by not healing his severed artery. We couldn't hurt him, not really. So I decided to let Rage, the part of me that hosts my truly demonic aspects, have some freedom from the leash I keep her on. Unfortunately, she used the distraction Sebastian's goading and mockery caused to choke me with it, and far more of that side of me got out than ever should have been able."

A thought occurs to Raven, and a small smile curves her lips.

"You saved me then, too. Without your fear, and your concern, I would not have awoken. I would have come back to myself much more slowly, and it would have been too late… I likely would have hated myself, both for being weak enough to kill out of petty anger and enough to let Sebastian get me to that point."

She presses another kiss to her girlfriend's lips, a blush creeping along both their faces.

"Thank you twice over, Jinx."

"It's what I do. I'm just that awesome," Jinx muses with a shrug, though her eyes give away the things she's too embarrassed to voice.

"Indeed. This is… far less terrible and much more freeing than I had thought it would be," the psychic admits.

"Well, then, I imagine the horrors are over with. So… what did Psimon do to you? It looked painful, and made you change like with Sebastian. If you don't want to tell me the details, if it's too personal-"

"He should not have been capable of doing what he did. That man originally gained his powers from a deal brokered with my father in the process of his research as a doctor. He should have lost those powers with Trigon's demise," Raven interrupts, airing a thought that bothers her greatly.

"Maybe it was a one-way thing?" Jinx offers with a shrug.

"Not from what I understand. With my father's defeat, his powers should have gone with him. I may have to look into it, see if I misunderstood something. He has become notably stronger since he was frozen."

"So he really did go out of his way to avoid you back then?"

"More or less. He helped contain me, but when that was done, he disappeared. I'm sure hoping I didn't know who he was so I couldn't turn my father's ire on him for assaulting me. Apparently he learned of his defeat and the lack of love lost between the two of us since that time."

"So, I mean, how'd he manage to get you? One minute I'm knocked flat on my ass and the next, you… Raven, please tell me him getting me by surprise wasn't enough to make an opportunity for him."

Raven visibly winces as the geas presses down on her mind, destroying the notion of anything but honesty.

"He hit you. You, being a metahuman and in general strong, would likely not have been too damaged by a blunt force trauma like that… All the same, it worried me, and he used the distraction. Afterwards was entirely on my own weakness…"

Raven's gaze goes distant, and Jinx forgets her guilt while worrying for what other horrors her curiosity is going to force her girlfriend to relive.

"He… He raised something from my subconscious. A fear, which is also engrained into me. It existed before, but Sebastian raised it largely into my mind. I am afraid of what consequences would come, if I were to ever lose control completely to my demon. He used it against me."

Her gaze locks on Jinx once again, a strange warmth showing in her gaze.

"It would have broken me. At least, at the rate it was going. As of late, I've undoubtedly been letting her have more control than I ever should have, without taking steps along with it… Had you not been there shouting, I likely would have become convinced it was reality rather than illusion. And before you ask, _please_, don't ask for details."

Jinx nods, the almost-begging tone enough to cull her curiosity.

"It's no big deal. What would it say about me as a person if I just stood there while my girlfriend's hurting?"

A smile spreads across Raven's face, a blush peppering her cheeks.

"It _is_ a big deal, Jinx. If the Titans had been there, they likely would have feared my transformation, and would have left me to deal with it on my own. Although Richard might actually have _helped me_ right into a prison," she adds with a glare, not realizing she's voiced the thought. "Admittedly, Starfire and Cyborg would have been equally concerned for me, but they would not have interfered. It is usually the way I prefer to handle things with them, and it is a mutual distancing from when we were young… but in that instance, it would not have gone over well."

Jinx pulls her once more into her embrace, laying a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"I must just be a very attentive girlfriend," she laughs.

"Yes, that must be it," Raven deadpans. "Would that make me a terrible girlfriend for holding this all back from you this whole time?"

"It's not like you've been lying to me. After what you've told me in just the last…"

Her gaze moves to a clock nearby, a small gasp sounding.

"-a lot less minutes than it feels like, I can completely understand why you wouldn't want to bring all this up out of the blue," she continues. "'s it okay if I have a few more questions?"

"I'd think we're past the point of needing to ask permission. I can't really tell you anything that'll scare you off if the whole scion to a hell-dimension didn't send you running for an anti-demon book."

"Alright, then. So, from what I'm gettin', the whole red skin and eyes and that weird special effect voice you do comes out when you're going through a lot of emotional stress, right?"

"It is, though only on three occasions, the other being the _incident_ that led to Dr. Light's stories. I usually have more control. Or I _did_, anyway."

"So, is that why you did the whole toneless, cold Goth routine when you were younger? To keep a handle on it?"

"The monks at the Tower of Azar, where I was raised, kept watch over me after my mother was given sanctuary and gave birth to me. When I said they broke my mind, I meant that literally. Through years of work, using the power of the goddess Azar to help them, they fractured my psyche at a young age and made it so emotions and parts of my nature would separate from me as they arose. The copy of me you've met, in Nevermore? She is one of them."

"They… How could they do that to someone?" Jinx demands, anger pulsing through her.

"Azarath is a different place from Earth. Their logic was that if I could not be a being with all of me together, my demonic nature included, I would not lose to my nature and turn into another Trigon. They weren't entirely wrong, either… But as a consequence, I grew up being afraid of expressing, or even _feeling_, my emotions."

"That why you were always meditatin', back when I was with the Titans? I mean, I wasn't there for long, but that seemed to be what people always said when you weren't joining us for events."

"In part, yes. Some of that can just be chalked up to habit from being raised in a temple, though," Raven adds with a small smile. "I had, over time, learned to fully control my emotions, so meditation became less and less necessary and moreso something to fill time with."

"_Had_. As in, something changed," Jinx points out.

"Yes, _had_… An unexpected change started, roughly… four months ago at this point. Elements were added to my life that threw off my internal balance, and as I began more and more enjoying the emotions that the elements brought to me, my monitoring began to slip. The consequences of the rendezvous we've shared, which I mentioned after the first incident in Gotham, Jinx."

Jinx's heart stutters at that, her mind replaying the last sentence repeatedly.

"Wait, you're sayin' that I'm causing you to-"

"It is an all-or-nothing deal. I cannot accept the lighter emotions you cause me to experience without also accepting the much darker which arise with them," Raven interrupts, cutting off her train of thought before it's vocalized.

"But still, if you started living your worst fear because a' me-"

"I said element_s_, Jinx. Much as I'm sure we would both enjoy it, my mental wellbeing does not revolve around you. You raised the light in my mind, which also uncaged the dark. Zatanna and Richard, though, are what truly made the darkness rise as an unstoppable beast in my mind. Especially with my oh-so-lovely discovery which led to my five minute report taking almost half an hour."

Something in her tone puts Jinx on edge, unexpected anger pain sending a quiver through her voice.

"What happened?"

"Richard has made a grave error. How do you think Gizmo would like free reign on the Titan mainframe?"

"He'd probably give up some of his toys for it. Rae, what happened?"

"Richard has _plans_ in place, to disable every single member of the Titans. I understand that Batman has much the same contingencies in place for the Justice League, however Richard is nowhere near as patient and capable of forethought as his mentor, and given his recent behavior, I cannot risk what he may do with those plans."

"Wait, you mean he can just take out any Titan on a whim? _Man_ am I glad that his info is way outdated on me," Jinx mutters.

"He is ever his masters' student. What I saw were brutal but undoubtedly effective plans, so while I may not have liked it, I would have understood his point of view on it… What he has planned for me is something beyond. It is not easy to disable me when I'm in a poor state of mind, and I recognize this fact. There _should_ be plans to kill me if I ever turn on my principles. What he has planned is nothing but cruel, and I cannot allow it to be done. Killing me would be one thing. He plans to cage me, bind me, and make me a stunted vegetable for the rest of my life."

Anger suddenly blossoms in Jinx, more than matching her girlfriend's.

"I'm sorry for making you feel guilty, at all, for pushing the q and a session on you, if I did, Rae. If that's how your _friends_ treat you-"

"Not friends. Zatanna and Richard," Raven interrupts.

Shaking her head violently, she leans further into the embrace and presses a much more impassioned kiss onto her lips, only separating when moans begin to sound in the air.

"It was well-deserved concern. I should've told you these things before Psimon forced my hand and threw you into shock at what you saw."

"I won't let him get his hands on you," Jinx swears, her pink eyes glowing angrily.

A smile breaks across Raven's face, and she moves in for yet another kiss.

"I have a plan on dealing with it. I'm sure Gizmo will enjoy the opportunity to destroy his contingencies, as both your and his names were there, too. But first there is something else I must do."

"Any help you want, I'll get it. Steel won't like the idea of possible assets put in danger on bird-brain's paranoia," Jinx intones through grit teeth. "You want me to ask him for a hit?"

"Unnecessary, and a waste of resources, though I do appreciate it. And I may call in a favor not dissimilar, depending on how my deliberations end up. But for right now, the first thing I need to take care of is internal. I've lost control twice in a matter of barely a full month. As I am, it will continue happening more and more, especially with some thoughts I had on who may be behind the thefts, who may be involved, and why."

She hadn't meant to reveal the last part, but as soon as it's out, she knows that it isn't a mistake. Jinx has more than earned her trust, and only her uncertainty on her still-forming recent thoughts on the robberies keeps the rest from leaving her.

"Psimon and Brother Blood will not be the last powerful psychics and mages we'll come across, of that I'm certain," she continues. "So I'm going to cut the problem off at the head, where I should have acted years ago. I'm going to undo what the monks did to my mind, and in doing so, I will likely become truly whole, not just a vessel for the avatars in my mind or Trigon's damned key. Not a human, not an Azarathian, not a demon, for the first time I might actually know who I am as just Raven."

Jinx tightens her hold on the woman, the idea terrifying and intriguing her simultaneously.

"And so we get to the end result of our conversation, something you convinced me I was correct in deciding with the more answers I gave and the lack of horror or hate that took place with each of them. I have a request, and it is an unfair one."

"I'll help you in any way I can," Jinx says, something warm stirring in the pit of her stomach and sending pleasant shivers through her.

"I need someone to keep vigil over me while I'm in Nevermore. I will be more vulnerable in there than I have been since I was first separated, and given Nightwing's actions, and Zatanna's powers and aggression, I cannot simply do this in my room. More, I will likely release a lot of power, whether through merging or dying, and if I do, the many magical villains we have not been as subtle as we should have been hunting down may very well take notice and come looking. I know what kind of pressure this request puts on you-"

"Rae, if you think I'm the person who'd be best for keeping you safe, I will protect you with everything I've got," Jinx interrupts.

Jinx's heart beats faster as the fact that Raven trusts her very bared soul to be protected by her settles in. The notion touches her monumentally, and she finds herself fighting tears of strange origin, a vague guess to what's happening taking root.

She initiates the kiss this time, a much gentler kiss than she remembers experiencing with the empath in their plethora shared.

"Only you, Nicole," Raven murmurs into the kiss, several stray tears slipping free...  
****************************

_Author's Notes_:

First of the Fallen is basically Satan in the DC comics, but not quite. More on that later.

This was by far the most interesting chapter for me to write thus far. I debated for quite a while on how the conversation would go, and what the results would be. It came out a tad melodramatic for my original intentions, but I'm glad to say I definitely like the end result, as I hope you all do as well. Be sure to let me know, though. See you next time!


	22. Inner Demons

Inner Demons

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

"Ya' know, I hate that name a lot less when you say it," Jinx muses. "Still, I prefer Jinx."

"And moment ruined," Raven deadpans. "Shall we get the fun underway?"

At her girlfriend's nod, the psychic's hand slides through a portal, quickly returning with her mirror.

"If you could work a little bit of your magic so luck's in my favor, it certainly wouldn't hurt."

She quickly presses another kiss to Jinx's lips before sitting in a lotus position on the floor.

And then her hand is on the mirror.

A flash of black light flares up from the glass, and Raven's body goes limp, her eyes glowing pure white…  
*********************

Raven takes form in a large, rocky clearing.

Around the table, centered in the clearing, sits seven copies of herself, leaving just enough room in the circle for herself.

"Merging is a necessity," Wisdom states as she takes a seat. "We're all in agreement over that. You've been incomplete for too long, and we've undoubtedly become discordant as time has dragged on. It's the specifics that must be discussed."

Raven's eyebrow raises in question, staring at her yellow clone.

"You believe it would be easy. Perhaps like when we simply joined with you when facing Rage down when she was still under Father's influence."

"_**Which would not have happened had she not kept me so strongly repressed as to essentially be nonexistent when his power entered me**_," her red self growls.

"Regardless, you are not correct in your assumption," Wisdom continues without missing a beat. "A permanent merge is not simply letting our powers join, it is facing and accepting every piece of your shattered soul."

Raven shrugs, hoping Jinx took her advice when she went into her trance.

"There isn't exactly a choice here. Shall we get this under way?"

With a nod, the clones disappear in smoke, their presences felt in all parts of her mind.

"You can choose the order, or have us choose for you. This is not an action you can go partially through," Wisdom states before she, too, disappears.

Raven sits silently at the abandoned table, mind turning her options over repeatedly.

Finally, she decides on dealing with her less potent emotions first as the best option.

As soon as she rises to head to her destination, two of her mirror selves appear.

They are garbed in pink and purple, and both wear a large and similar smile. The differences in their smiles, though, is clear, the purple Raven not unintentionally reminding her of Jinx.

Raven feels a blush creep across her as the women both move to her side, leaning heavily on her and grinning goofily at her.

"I'm not surprised. Not like it'd be hard to deal with what you already know," the purple Raven, Love, states with a sultry whisper.

"Good to see you aren't denying us, finally," the pink clone, Happiness, chirps.

The loud voice causes a spike of pain in Raven's mind, a heatless glare focusing on the loud woman.

"So, let's talk about Jinx. What do you think of her?" Love asks with a smile.

"The best thing that's happened to me," Raven shrugs, surprising them both with her honesty. "What? We're in my head. You are why I think that way."

"Yeah, but you're always putting on that gloomy mask, even with us in here," Happiness states, as if afraid to hear the statement taken back.

"I told her she's what brought my light out," Raven deadpans. "I was being serious. She's able to make me… _happy_… even while being serious enough to converse with me on an even level and not come out of it poorly."

"And…?" Love prompts, her eyes glowing slightly purple as her smile grows.

"And she made no judgments. She was rightfully scared when I… _we_… told her everything just now, and she's currently outside my body, keeping watch over me while I am utterly vulnerable… Outside of what will hopefully happen once this whole thing is over, I'm more of myself with her than with anyone, even if I trust my life to Koriand'r and Victor."

"And Garfield," Happiness interrupts with a giggle.

"In theory," Raven responds with a blush.

"Alright, I'm good. How 'bout you?" Happiness asks pointedly at Love.

The purple incarnation simply nods, both women stepping back.

"You'd better try your hardest to keep Jinx in your life. As it's the same for you, she's also the best thing that's happened for _us_," Happiness says with a grin, throwing her arm over Love's shoulder.

Raven nods in agreement, and the two vanish in a burst of colored light.

A strange, throbbing sensation floods the psychic's brain, and she watches in fascination as her robe cycles through colors, pink and purple quickly making the fabric a light mauve color.

"_I really need to talk, seriously, with her about this,"_ she muses internally as the emotions take hold.

What was subconsciously driven becomes fully accepted, and she realizes that she will not be able to keep what the realization causes in her bottled.

Needing something to temper the giddy feelings bubbling in her, she materializes in an ancient library.

"Best to take me on to better deal with the more negative aspects of your soul. As expected," Wisdom states without looking up from her book.

"You did not say I would lose my clarity once started," Raven accuses with a glare, the giddy emotions overpowering her mind.

"You did not ask. I did not know. Regardless, I'll keep this short. What are your intentions with the rest of the objects?"

"I'll continue as I have been" Raven responds. "The museums still get their pretty pieces of history to gawk at, and the risk of the exact things I fear happening from their capture will no longer be present."

"Very well. And your containment plan? Without Rage, your demonic aspect will not be influenced by their power corrupting Nevermore, but they will still be in your mind. The evils that they have been formed from and continue to be used for since will continue poisoning you."

"Jinx and I will work something out. I'm sure between the two of us, and Gizmo's technology, we can come up with something almost as effective."

Wisdom's eyes close in thought, a frown curling her lips.

"Alright. This makes sense."

Her eyes open to reveal a flare of yellow, and when Raven's sight returns, she feels her logic returning to compliment the happiness flowing through her brain. Her robe once again transforms, becoming a light shade of brown now.

Before she can ponder the next course of action, a green shadow sweeps past her vision.

Bravery takes a seat on top of a large bookshelf, glaring down at her.

"What're you gonna' do about Richard and Zatanna?" she demands.

Surprisingly, another clone takes form, a grey-cloaked Raven crouching low underneath Bravery against the bookshelf.

"S-S-Sorry… I f-figured y-you'd want to g-get me over with n-next, and I ag-agree with Bravery," Timidity stutters, her eyes locked on the ground.

"You're an odd and unexpected pair," Raven remarks. "As for how I will _deal_…"

Raven's eyes close in thought, contemplating on more than just her immediate plan of action regarding the vile pair.

"I don't know what it means for my future," she finally sighs. "I will destroy his plans, but he is intelligent. If I do not go about it right, he can find another way to enact his heinous idea, especially with that two-faced witch whispering in his ear."

Her anger surprises even her, quickly calming when Timidity seems to shrink inside her cloak.

"I cannot continue as a Titan, not after discovering that. Even were I to decide to remain on as an individual member, like Argent or Jericho, he would hound me. Someone capable of such plans is not a leader I will ever follow. Apparently, my forgiveness of Zatanna was misplaced, as well, since she is in no way different than I had originally assumed."

"All great. What are you going to _do_?" Bravery presses.

"Jinx made an offer long ago. Perhaps a new occupation, not bound to petty issues when there are real evils in the world, is in order."

She doesn't miss Bravery's clear enjoyment of the statement, nor the rambling of Rage's, either.

"Proactive, effective, and violent, without always walking on eggshells around people who're secretly terrified of what you can do. I like it," Bravery declares as she hops to the ground.

Unexpectedly, she pulls Raven into a hug, and her body quickly glows with green energy.

When the glow vanishes, her cloak is darker yet.

She notices with a smile that her muscles are visibly enlarged from her inner warrior's merge. Matching the change, she feels her self-confidence swell.

The idea of fighting Nightwing no longer seems daunting.

"_If he pushes, I _will_ retaliate,"_ she muses.

"Wh-What're you g-going to do ab-about the relics' col-collection?" Timidity asks, quickly bringing her down under her influence.

Raven slowly moves to kneel in front of her fear, her expression soft.

"I treated you almost as horribly as I did Rage in my self-restraint," she muses. "What would you suggest I do?"

Timidity's eyes widen in shock, her body coming out from its pseudo-shell.

"I ca-can't answer that. The result is ob-obvious. With-Without the Titans' support… even Jinx's v_-very_ benef-ficial existence w-won't be able to s-save the whole pl-planet," she stutters, nearly in tears.

"The Titans are not the issue," Raven reasons. "Richard will not be a factor. Victor, Kori, and Garfield would help, as undoubtedly would other Titans. Were I to give them proof of my suspicions, I'm sure that Dr. Fate could even convince the Justice League to help. And I am not as weak as I was when first Trigon used me for his goals. Something lesser will be of little consequence."

"Y-You shou-shouldn't pretend to b-be so s-sure. N-Not with m-me," she scolds.

"I will not ignore what the instincts coming from your side of my soul tell me. But I cannot be too afraid to act, either," Raven responds.

Her eyes widen in absolute shock when the grey avatar repeats Bravery's actions, pulling her into another hug, if much less enthusiastic and much more cautious.

"T-Try to ma-make more friends. J-Jinx's be-been good for-for me too," she whispers.

Slowly, her body dissolves in grey smoke, the fumes slithering in Raven's nose and mouth.

As her cloak turns almost a black color, she rises from her kneeling position.

Two presences remaining in her mind, Raven decides to put the undoubtedly worst for last.

She appears in what appears to be a clone of her room in the Tower.

A copy of herself with a light blue cloak sits on the duplicate of her bed. A self-assured smirk colors her features, and she simply stares at Raven as she approaches.

"Been a while, Raven."

"Pride," she deadpans.

"It's about time you grew up from thinking you're the big bad monster Dick seems to believe you to be."

"Indeed. And what question does my ego have for me?"

"If I join you, will you stop being so damn piteous?" Pride growls. "You possess a lot of power. You should damn well start using it, and unlike Bravery's confidence, I am everything that truly makes up what makes you not wither in fear of what you can do. If I join you, do you believe you'll be able to accept everything your ego means once fully within you?"

"I will keep my head up in the face of those who would mock or damn me, if that's what you're looking for, Pride. Frankly, as I'm sure you're aware, your exhaustion with this mentality the monks buried into my mind, that my very blood makes me paradoxically inferior and a threat both, is my own."

"Jinx alone has proven your clutching to the mentality is misplaced," Pride adds.

"She has. I have no intention of basing my opinions of self on the thoughts of others. It's time I grew up," Raven remarks.

Pride rises to her feet, a determined expression changing how her smirk appears.

"You're damn right. It's about time you get some actual happiness, and you're going to have to make it for yourself. I like Jinx. But don't become dependent on her, like you have been with both breakdowns now, and with dealing with Richard. She's earned to be treated as an equal, not a crutch for you to lean on."

"That is… surprising," Raven admits, eyes wide at her ego's words.

"She's fought right with us for months now, and what power you held back from her was even less than what you held back with your friends and Richard. Like I said, my, and in extension _your_ respect is damn-well earned."

With an acknowledging nod, Pride's body explodes into a cluster of large, blue ravens.

As soon as they fly into the psychic, her feet leave the ground, silver exploding from her eyes and mouth with her cloak following suit.

When her eyes open once more, she stands in Rage's domain, the volcanoes raging around them.

As she begins searching for her last piece, a hand wraps around her throat.

She gasps as she's lifted from the ground, coming face-to-face with her inner demon, in every sense of the term.

Visions of her nightmare flare up in Raven's mind, and with a growl she dispels it, kicking the red-skinned woman in the chin.

As she tumbles backward, the psychic floats back to the ground, brushing at imaginary dust.

"Deserved, but not appreciated. Don't try it again," Raven warns.

"_**Well, you might actually be ready for me,**_" Rage laughs, quickly rising to her feet. "_**You evaded Bravery's question. What will you **_do_** to Richard Grayson and Zatanna Zatarra for their betrayals? Or to those who would mock your lineage or power, as Doctor Simon or Sebastian Blood?**_"

"I can't go around killing everyone who pisses me off, Rage-"

"_**Which is something you should have learned long ago would be something I acknowledge,**_" Rage snarls, the ground rumbling beneath her. "_**You treat me still as something to be suppressed and avoided-**_"

"I don't," Raven interrupts. "I… did. For the longest time, you were the best chance Trigon had at getting access to my mind and using me. I did not treat you fairly, and I understand that, but if I had really thought that, I would not have called on your help more than once, much less having let you have free roam as the others have of your own and their domains once you were free of the influence. But still, I-"

"_**Engrained, I know. You certainly said it to Jinx enough. But the thing that you still, **_right now_, __**are refusing to accept is that your actions are your own. The monks, the Justice League, and the Titans' actions guided you, but **_you _**make yet the decision to treat me as a threat.**_"

Tears form in Raven's eyes, meeting the pure rage in her demon's four eyes and knowing that she is its cause, and that its cause is justified.

Something in the thought causes a palpable shift in her mind, something coming free as if it had been trapped for a long time.

A sharp pain forms in her head, spots forming in her vision.

Shaking it off, she approaches Rage, showing no fear.

"I will make him pay for his betrayal," she intones. "At present, I will have Gizmo hack into their system and destroy his damned plans. Perhaps use it against his leadership as leverage. The League tolerates Batman's actions because he is skilled enough to more than make up for them. They will not tolerate Richard's. And if he, or Zatanna, or both for that matter, try to enact their treachery regardless, I will _crush _them."

The statement seems to make the volcanoes quiet, something stirring in Rage's gaze.

"Their_** system. Not **_our_** system. I like that**_."

A smile spreads across Rage's lips, the expression not sending the expected terror through Raven.

"_**And what of your demonic blood, and the power it grants you? Will you continue denying it, even as you accept every single solitary other facet of yourself, including the Pride which fueled it almost as much as I?**_" Rage demands.

"I won't. Integration has changed my outlook, somewhat," Raven states, thinking aloud. "The demon is also me. Just as you were all also me. I cannot be whole while denying that part of me that comes with you joining."

"_**But…?**_" Rage prompts, glaring at her.

"But I'm scared. No, that's like saying the ocean has water. I am terrified. Terrified of indulging too much of my nature, of becoming another Trigon. The powers are doubtless incredible, but… Trigon was emotionless. _Really_, truly emotionless. What if that's just part of demon nature?"

"_**You assume much for a learned woman. He was the embodiment of emotions from Azarath. **_Negative _**emotions, assuredly, but emotions nonetheless. He was not a demon. He was a manifestation. And your other half is human, the side you clearly align yourself with."**_

"I know. It's a stupid fear. But Rage, I couldn't deal with it if what Psimon ripped out of my head came to pass. My friends, the innocents, Jinx, all of them, wiped out with a thought… that is an idea that is soul-shatteringly terrifying."

"_**I'd have thought Pride would give you better assurance in yourself**_," Rage sneers.

"She did. All of them did. You will, too. But the fear is not unfounded. However, in my recent clarity, as I said, I'm looking at things from a new perspective. It _is_ a part of my nature. If I can control it, rather than fighting against it, the results should not be so traumatic. If I fully accept everything that Father's blood means, then I will be more prepared. Better-suited for protecting what and who I love."

"_**Then the hesitation?**_" Rage snarls, making a vague 'get on with it' hand gesture.

"I'm uncertain what risks the integration could cause. Will I still look like me? Talk like me? _Think_ like me? I'm not backing down, but it's enough uncertainty to worry me. But I can't deny what it will grant me. My fear in part comes from what happened when I suppressed it, and you, to the point of snapping. If I become truly whole, I can't imagine that the issue will be present anymore."

Rage stares silently at her for a small eternity, seeming to weigh her entire existence in her gaze.

"_**You had better find a way to show **_everyone_** what is yours, and that what is yours is off-limits to any who wish to remain living,**_" she finally growls.

In an explosion of red, fiery light, a mountainous raven with four eyes and made completely of the red light takes form.

With a screech that sends the ground atremble, it launches through the air between them.

It meets the gem in her chakra, and then Raven is standing once more in the clearing with the round table.

The sky above Nevermore shifts, looking like the long-gone Azarathian skies.

Her cloak is a pure, pristine white, and as she stands it seems to cast beams of light from her.

A serene smile flickers across her expression, the change already making itself known as her completeness settles in.

"_For the first time since my birth, I am _me," she muses, a giddy laugh sounding even as tears fall.

The full weight of her new emotions quickly floods her mind, new understanding and perspectives on all her actions and thoughts asserting themselves and becoming one unified whole.

Her eyes open to the outside world, the smile showing no signs of leaving her.

As she feels her new senses taking the world in, Jinx's emotions reach her.

It is a bizarre cocktail, fear, awe, concern, amusement, and another, softer emotion that she can only now guess at, all working together in a strange harmony.

It is that softer emotion that brings her own to be calmed, a cautious optimism of what came next taking root...  
*********************

_Author's Notes_:

While in the cartoon, and in the comics, Raven also has Emoticlones (I didn't think this was actually a name, but I'm trusting the Titans Wiki on this for reference) of Sloth (Brown) and Rudeness (Orange), I admit I couldn't think of a benefit of them joining, nor could I think of what those sides of her would wish for, so I decided for the sake of convenience to the story that those things (which I argue are not emotions to begin with) didn't exist. Instead, I substituted Rude (the snarky emotion) for Pride, which is similar, considered an actual emotion, and is also the Deadly Sin that Raven represents of her brothers as Trigon's children. I also switched Knowledge for Wisdom, because I feel Wisdom is deeper than just knowledge, which matches the personality I gave her.

Rage's manner of speech actually comes from recently re-reading the Hollows book series by Kim Harrison. I like the idea of demons getting very personal about those they deal with.

Hope you've been thoroughly enjoying yourselves reading as I have writing thus far. Let me know, either way. See you next time!


	23. Whole

Whole

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven's eyes slowly move to her girlfriend.

Jinx stands in a crouch barely an inch away from her, her face flushed bright red.

A small, tentative smile curves her lips, and in her eyes lays a mixture of warmth and concern.

Raven feels a strange tickling on her back, and with a small amount of dread, reaches her hand back to find its source.

A groan leaves her as her fingers move through her hair, the previous pixie cut giving way to mid-back, thick waves.

A wince forms as something scratches her neck, and she brings her hand in front of her face to marvel at her nails.

They are each longer than their trimmed former selves, ending in sharp, hooked ends.

As Raven takes their appearance in, her gaze moves to look at her new skin.

She is noticeably redder, making her grey colorization almost Caucasian.

As soon as she notices the color, it leeches away, leaving her to her former color, which no longer causes her despair.

Her cloak, wrapped tightly around her body, is the same pure white as it had been in Nevermore.

She can tell from the reflection in Jinx's bright eyes that blood-red specks are now in her purple gaze, and she knows that it is a more permanent change than her hair or nails are.

Previously, these things would all have sent her into a tailspin into terror, her mind quickly working to fight against the change and repress her nature.

Now, though, the shift in her personality is firm, and she no longer sees it as a curse.

Slowly, she rises from her seated position, Jinx rising with her.

She gently grasps her hands, mindful of her temporary claws, and leads her over to the couch.

Jinx stares in silent awe at her the entire time, sitting down without looking anywhere else.

"You look amazing… It's different, from before," she finally says, breaking the silence.

"It is, and thank you, Jinx. How long was I predisposed?"

"About… five, six minutes, I'd guess. I'm gonna' guess that was like two hours in there, though."

"More or less… Tell me, what caused your various emotions permeating the air? A lot must have happened in five or six minutes for all that to show up. It's making me very curious," Raven states, her voice a lower and sultrier tone than she remembers having.

Raven hopes that the warmth radiating from the woman, the one still rising from Jinx's mind and growing stronger in her own, will remain the last to be discussed.

Jinx leans against her side, staring at her as if not entirely sure what's changed, but knowing that the change is for the better.

"Well, here's the quick recap. I don't know what was goin' on in your head, but it must've been really interesting. So, you go into your trance, and you're just sitting there for a minute or two. Nothing's happening. Then, all of a sudden, your cape turned bright, bubblegum pink," she says, raising the neon ends of her hair for comparison.

"So that happened out here as well?" Raven asks, a smile forming.

"Uh-huh. So, your cape changes, then the most _adorable _grin showed up. I didn't even know you could make an expression like that. But I definitely want to see more of it," she adds, laughing at Raven's blush.

"I don't do _adorable_," Raven mumbles, her face feeling like it's on fire.

"Gonna' have to disagree with you. Shame, too. Ya' only had it for, like, ten seconds. Then you turned bright purple, and that smile changed. You looked like you were going to eat me, and not in any way I would protest. Seriously, that look could make me melt. Gonna' have to try to bring that out again," the meta adds, her own blush taking hold.

"I didn't… _do_ anything while not in control of myself, did I?" the psychic asks, slight worry mingling with her embarrassment and amusement.

"No. Damn shame, too," Jinx mutters. "You turned yellow and green, too, but mostly, you didn't seem to change too much. There was this huge grin when you went green, looked like you were ready to kick serious ass, but that was gone in a second."

"Grey next?" Raven guessed.

"Yeah," she responds, her expression saddening. "You were shiverin' and crying, and it was breakin' my heart to see. I tried to get to you, but those freaky nightmare hentai tentacles you sometimes use showed up and kept me away from you. I was a little freaked when they wrapped around me like they were _huggin'_ me, though."

Raven remembers Timidity's fear, wondering if it had been for more than just their own benefits.

Jinx leans forward and kisses her, snapping her out of her contemplation as the warmth coats her mind entirely.

"Don't scare me like that again. I thought you were havin' a breakdown, or somethin'," she says as she breaks away.

Raven smiles, cupping her girlfriend's cheek and making sure not to scratch her.

"_Priority one when this is over,"_ Raven muses.

"I will try not to. Sorry I scared you. So what happened next? It's fascinating, to think that I did not just sit there frozen while I was getting the merge done."

"It was fascinating to watch," Jinx adds with a grin. "So, I thought the whole thing was over when you turned blue, like usual… Then you turned red. I mean _really _red. Your skin, your eyes, your cape, hell, even your hair was practically glowing from it. You were gasping and wheezing for air."

"I had a more difficult time taking my Rage in," Raven offers.

"Yeah, I could tell. I just sat down at your side in case you needed me, because I figured that if I risked interfering with the obvious worst part, I could seriously screw something up. Still, freaky. Then you changed, again."

Raven inquisitively gestures to herself, an eyebrow raised.

"Exactly. Your hair started to grow, like someone pressed fast forward a few dozen times."

Her Cheshire smile forms, and she runs her hand through Raven's long tresses.

"Silky. I can get used to that," she muses, laughing when Raven's blush darkens.

"Then I can't really complain about it, too much. Don't get too used to this, though, I like my hair short," the psychic adds with a smile of her own.

"Pity. It'd make for a great handhold while… er, anyway, you started bulking up. You weren't exactly scrawny before, but now, ya' look like you could probably hold your own with yer' bare hands against Cyborg."

Raven's eyes move down, widening in surprise as she realizes that she has, in fact, grown considerably in her arm's musculature.

The muscles are still toned and not enough to make her appear as a bodybuilder, but they are certainly significantly more powerful in appearance than earlier.

"We'll have to see if _all _your muscles got firmer later," Jinx laughs, brushing her hand down the woman's hip suggestively.

"So was your awe merely from me getting larger?" Raven prompts with a throatier voice.

"You had four eyes again, then you went back to two, like a wave ran through your head. It was kinda' weird. And there're the talons, too. The whole deal was kinda' amazing. So, if that's what _I_ saw, I can't even guess what you went through."

Her body turns to fully face Raven, staring intently at her.

"How're you feeling?"

Raven takes mental stock of herself, fully analyzing her new self. A smile curls across her lips as she finds herself enjoying what she finds, and slowly a laugh bubbles up to the surface.

She quickly leans forward, gripping the meta's head on both sides and pulling her in for a searing kiss, both of them breathless when it eventually breaks apart.

"I feel more amazing than words can describe," she laughs. "Like you guessed, I went through a lot within my mind, but I've realized things. Jinx, I'm not afraid to feel anymore," she laughs again.

Grinning, Jinx pulls her into her arms, laying her lips along her face a large number of times before they kiss once more.

"I wanna' hear you laugh more," she finally gasps, pulling away with spots appearing in her sight.

"That may very well happen."

Raven's gaze softens, and one of her hands slides free from Jinx's neck to cup her cheek.

Her smile grows when Jinx closes her eyes and her head cradles into the touch, a small purr sounding in the back of her throat.

"One thing in particular sticks out in this new freedom, as well. It pertains to you."

Jinx tenses slightly, eyes locking with the psychic's while the warmth mixes with nervousness.

"There was surprising consensus in my mind. All of me is in favor of our relationship. _Literally_ all of me," Raven soothes with a smile.

The meta relaxes somewhat, though the anxiousness doesn't leave her eyes, clearly knowing there's more.

"Two parts of me seemed to make a particularly strong case in our favor."

Jinx's hesitation is visible, her mind working fast.

"Which parts?" she finally asks.

Her nervousness vanishes as she seems to guess, her Cheshire's smile back in full force.

"So all of your selves likes me, huh? That's a lot of lovin'," she laughs.

Raven's own smile grows, her eyes showing humor that is lost on Jinx.

"In fact it is," she muses. "Quite literally. She and my sense of Happiness were what you saw when I was smiling in the beginning."

Jinx's mirth vanishes, a gasp sounding as she stares at her girlfriend.

The bluntness of her statement is shocking enough, but the statement she is bold about is enough to make the meta's mind not connect the dots for several seconds.

When she figures it out, she jumps atop Raven and plants a kiss that steals their breath on her lips.

She keeps going even as her vision begins to be dotted with black spots.

"I take it you approve?" Raven asks, pulling her into her arms.

"You have to ask?" Jinx asks. "I figured out a while ago that I want you in my life, in a way a lot more serious than just the good conversation and fantastic fucks. If you didn't say somethin' soon, I was going to."

She leans in to form another kiss, her emotions mixing heavily into it and sending Raven's newly empowered empathic abilities into overdrive.

"But c'mon, you're almost there. Say it," Jinx demands with a grin. "I wanna' hear you actually say it so I know we're on the same page."

Raven winds her hands around the meta's waist, sure her smile will be stuck on her face for a long time to come, if it goes away at all.

"I love you, Jinx. No more holding back anymore, you get all of me from hereon. And I'm not scared or worried to say it," she adds with another gleeful laugh.

"Then I'd say your whole merge thing is already an investment paying off," Jinx muses, still lightheaded as she brings more air into herself.

Raven uses her grip on Jinx's waist to turn her, leaning her head on her shoulder.

"I would say most definitely. I don't think I can go back to the Tower right now."

"I think I know of a place you could stay… Won't the asshole get suspicious?" Jinx asks, her good mood dampening as her anger from earlier returns.

"He will. I don't know what Zatanna told him when they left, but it won't be good. But I can't go back there until I'm ready. There are things I need to discuss with Gizmo, and safeguards to put in place so even if something goes horribly wrong, he won't put me in his cage. It is undoubtedly going to get ugly when I go back there."

"Then I'm staying with you until you go. And even then, if you want."

"I could certainly use the help, but I'll have to think on it. If I can, I'd like to deal with it peaceably… Well, as much as blackmail can be a peaceful resolution, anyways," Raven adds with a grimace.

"Ooh, you're _totally_ joining the dark side," Jinx laughs.

"Dork."

"And ya' love it," the meta chimes with a laugh.

"Absolutely."

"There is something good to come from his stupidity, though, the way I'm lookin' at it now."

"Oh? Do share," Raven prompts with a raised eyebrow.

With an impressive display of athleticism, Jinx spins in her arms, her body pressing tightly against her as she comes to a stop facing her.

"Well, you can actually sleep until reasonable hours and won't need to go running in the morning, now."

"Point," Raven murmurs, a blush blossoming on her face as Jinx presses closer.

"And then there's the whole _new you_ thing. I could get you to pant and moan before. I can't imagine what noises I can get from you now that you've got all your senses fully going," she adds with a grin.

Raven stares with her mouth open at her lover, the thoughts running through her head like a film quickly turning her entire face scarlet.

"Oh, thinking of something fun? Care to share?" Jinx asks, her voice lower and her breath puffing against the psychic's ear.

Raven shivers at the sensation, eyes glazing over in heat as Jinx, impossibly, presses even further into her embrace.

"Absolutely," she groans.

A portal opens up beneath their bodies, and Jinx squeals in surprise as they fall through the air and come bouncing down onto her bed.

"Let's see how good love confession sex is for getting our minds off serious stuff for a while, shall we?" Jinx gasps…  
***************************

_Author's Notes_:

I have to say that I'm really out of my element on this chapter. Romance is not my genre, at all. So I'd like very much for your thoughts, readers. What did I and didn't I do well here? Do you like how it's written, or not? Enjoying the story as a whole, or are there things you have issues with? Hold nothing back, folks, and I'll see you next time!


	24. Confrontation

Confrontation

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Raven awakens slowly, the warmth around her making a very persuasive argument in favor of just staying asleep.

The soreness permeating her entire body, though, gradually forces her to wakefulness.

A low purr sounds at her side, and she turns into her lover's arms with a smile.

Memories of the previous day move in a slideshow through her mind, her new sense of giddiness quickly returning.

Jinx presses closer to the psychic, the noises she makes bringing Raven's blush to blossom throughout her whole body.

Even in her drowsy state, a smile curves her lips as her gaze moves up Raven's body, making its way slowly up to the psychic's face.

Raven's head bends to push their lips together, the chaste gesture quickly turning more passionate as the meta wakes.

Jinx snakes her arm upwards, cupping her neck as she reluctantly pulls away.

"Careful. A girl could get used to that kinda' wakeup," she practically moans.

"And a girl could get used to waking you with it," Raven returns with a warm smile.

Jinx's smile grows as she notices something behind Raven.

"What's this? And when there's actual light outside, too! I could get used to that, too," she laughs.

At Raven's embarrassed frown, she quickly presses another kiss to her lips, instantly removing the expression.

"You're so cute when you blush," Jinx laughs. "I can definitely get used to _that_, too, hopefully a lot more in the foreseeable future."

Raven brushes her hand along the woman's spine, reveling in the shivers that overtake the meta's form.

"Go back to sleep, Jinx. Rest a bit more," she encourages, her heart beating faster at her lover's insinuation.

"Not a morning person. Good thing ta' know for the future."

"Go back to sleep, Jinx. Rest a bit more," she encourages, her heart beating faster at her lover's insinuation.

"'Kay."

With the lack of convincing needed, Raven laughs as Jinx's eyes slide back closed and she promptly begins snoring again.

A grumble making itself known, the psychic silently slips into a portal, taking her clothes with her as she floats without a sound into the kitchen, letting her lover rest a while longer…  
*********************

Slowly, pink eyes begin opening to blearily take in the world outside.

She had not been wrong.

The sex before couldn't even compare to how amazing their lovemaking had been, the term much better fit for their newest development.

Jinx comes awake slowly, groaning as her body's various sorenesses and aches make themselves known.

The thought of their activities over the previous day brings her Cheshire smile to the meta's lips, though it quickly wanes when she takes notice of the lack of body pressed against her.

Her gaze becomes much clearer in an instant, looking around for Raven, before an amazing scent catches her attention.

Stomach grumbling, her sudden hunger leads her to her kitchen, and a very strange sight.

Raven moves around the kitchen, dressed in her leotard while her cloak is nowhere to be seen.

One thing Jinx had not expected was that the psychic could cook.

With how she expertly maneuvers something hidden by her body, that assumption quickly vanishes.

"When the day for the prophecy to happen came, I tried to distract myself by cooking, to get my mind off it all," Raven says in greeting. "It went terribly, and only Koriand'r could eat what I made when attempting to create pancakes. After all of the dust had settled and the Earth was once again whole, I decided to take some classes up on cooking. It turned out I could do quite well at it, given enough mistakes to learn from."

"I didn't make any noise," Jinx says as she takes a seat. "And I'm not going to complain about free food."

"It's your food, I'm just putting it to use," Raven argues, flipping something in her skillet. "And I'm getting used to everything, so I don't know if it'll go away, but I heard you the second you got out of bed."

Jinx's eyes widen, casting a glance back the way she came.

"That's on the other side of the apartment."

"Glad you know the geography of your apartment," Raven laughs, the sound sending a thrill through the meta.

"And you didn't go back to sleep when you told me to… why?" she grouses.

"Not all of us need to sleep until the day is half over," Raven taunts.

"I sleep perfectly normal. Everyone else needs to figure out nocturnal schedules are more efficient," the meta grumbles with a blush.

Raven laughs at her response, though she purely teases the tired meta.

She knows from some of her stories that some ops meant almost weeks at a time with barely any sleep to be had safely in between.

Her sleep habits while in Jump City make perfect sense.

That doesn't mean she can't have her fun, something that her new attributes seem to demand.

"I am sorry that my hunger won out against staying in your arms for another hour. Sadly, you seem to have burnt all my energy away. And I'll be needing as much as I can gather."

"Get used to it, babe, 'cause I'll be perfectly happy making you wake up burnt out all the time. Can't say I don't wish you had just left the damn clothes on the floor, though. I feel so naked."

"You are," Raven deadpans with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly. And you're not," the meta responds with a grin. "How 'bout we fix that?"

"Eating first, fun after I've dealt with the bastard."

"Such a hard bargain. Fine, I guess I'll just have to wait… So, today's the day, huh?" Jinx inquires with a more serious expression, slowly making her way to stand behind her.

A shiver runs through the psychic's body as warm arms circle her waist, her smile growing as Jinx presses into her.

"Unfortunately. Any more delay, and they'll come looking. First, though, you sit down, and we enjoy breakfast. You're going to distract me and I don't want to burn our food."

"We could just eat out," Jinx laughs, a bright blush forming on both their faces. "Actually, if you're saying we could do that if I distract you-"

Raven spins in her arms, fast enough to make her gasp.

Her eyebrow rises and she cups Jinx's neck.

"Jinx, you're insatiable. I like that. But seriously, sit. I can ravish you after I'm not hungry for actual food."

Her tone gives none of the elation she truly feels away, and yet the psychic can tell that Jinx knows nonetheless.

Raven had not expected her confessions to end well, at all. That it had ended with the meta not only not afraid of her, but with the meta reciprocating her feelings was an utterly amazing result.

That she herself has no qualms letting her know just how much she's come to love her is an even greater joy, her giddiness slow at working its way from her system.

"No fun," Jinx grumbles as she moves to take a seat once more.

"Says the woman limping," Raven laughs.

"Speakin' of, what the hell'd I do wrong? You shouldn't be standin', either."

With a blank expression, Raven points downward. When Jinx's eyes finally make their way down her legs, a growl sounds.

"That just ain't fair," she grumbles, glaring at the inches of space between her lover's feet and the floor.

"As you've said before, I believe. It's actually really amazing. I don't even need much thought anymore, like I did before. I'm just hoping the claws don't grow back all the time, because I ended up having to use a knife to clip them."

Jinx's eyes widen in alarm at that, shooting to her feet as a twinge rips through her.

"You what?"

"Apparently my nails are no longer nails. Or, not simple enamel, anyways. You're lucky I have other talented areas, because you could've gotten seriously hurt."

"Oh, I know just how lucky I am," Jinx laughs as her face turns scarlet.

Raven sends whatever's on her skillet into another flip, and moments later, a timer rings.

Nodding, her soul-self flips the oven off while another carries the heated metal to two plates.

As she moves the plates to the table, she leans at Jinx's side with a grin.

"If it makes you feel better, I _had _to levitate at first, when I first started getting things ready," she whispers into her ear. "And you aren't the only lucky one."

"Ugh… Let's eat, before I end up jumping you," Jinx groans, her stomach tightening as she reacts to the sensation.

"Sounds like a plan," Raven laughs, floating into the seat opposite her lover as they begin digging in.

The day moves in a blur after their breakfast is finished. In short time, the pair materialize inside Jinx's safehouse.

Raven quickly goes through her explanations, the thought of Nightwing tracking her down and showing up at any moment making Raven's discussion with Gizmo much more tense than expected.

"So I get to do _whatever_ I want?" Gizmo asks with a grin.

"There will be limitations," she states with a frown. "Richard is a bastard, but Victor is not, in any stretch. I don't want you messing with him too much. At most, some minor viruses to stump him. Nothing that could end up hurting him or giving him a psychotic break dealing with it."

Gizmo's eyes widen at that, his grin growing larger.

"That's downright charitable, Raven."

"If you're good. First, I get you inside."

Raven's soul-self quickly rises from her body and wraps around the keyboard, depressing them in a sequence faster than their eyes can follow.

Both Jinx and Gizmo watch in awe as the screen flickers, showing security wall after security wall of the Titans' mainframe opening.

"I coulda'-"

"He can't know you were there until I'm ready. Cyborg would know if anything tried to hack in. It's why you always got knocked out when you tried before."

"I coulda' beaten the stinkin' security-"

"Eventually. No time," Raven interrupts.

The screen flickers once more, and her soul-self vanishes.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of paper, placing it in front of him.

"These first. Any others you can get in ten minutes are a bonus, but that's the window before Cyborg knows someone's inside while out of the Tower."

He quickly goes into action, the sound of rapid key clicks filling the silent air.

One by one, the pictures of Raven, Jinx, Cyborg, and Starfire appear on the screen before they are wiped from existence.

With a small frown, he moves on to planting his virus, the coding designed to follow the data of Richard's files and destroying every copy made from their mainframe.

As he does that, Raven's eyes glow black, and a disc materializes in her hands.

"Is that-"

"Richard's vault holds a lot of dangerous toys. This one's the backup. Jinx, if you would?"

She offers her hand to the meta, and her Cheshire smile forms.

Her eyes flare bright pink, and she points at the plastic.

"_Incendio_!" she shouts.

The disc immediately ignites in green flames.

Before the fire can damage the safehouse, a bubble of Raven's soul-self wraps around it.

The women watch as the plastic turns to nothing but molten black chunks and ash in the bubble, and then it's gone.

A loud series of beeps from her pocket makes the inventor jump, his rapid typing interrupted.

"The hell's that?"

"You have five minutes left. I'd hurry if you want to have your fun," she instructs.

Raven simply pulls her communicator out as he returns to his furious typing.

Her eyebrow rises at the number of missed calls indicated, despite her less than 24-hour absence.

She had checked on things when she first prepared to make breakfast, something undoubtedly inspired by the new acceptance of the more feminine aspects that came with Love.

The only thing that the Titans had dealt with were a minor fight, certainly nothing warranting so many calls to her.

"This can't be anything good," she muses before flipping the communicator closed.

"They checkin' up on ya'?" Gizmo inquires.

"Indeed. I'd find it funny if not so overbearing. As if I can't be on my own for more than a few hours."

A thought occurs to her, and her eyes glow black.

"Gizmo, where was the location of his cage?"

"In some bunker downtown, by some old library. Ain't like it's gonna' matter, now he's got no blueprints for it. Apparently he's only got it halfway done."

Raven's eyes narrow, becoming noticeably red.

"Old library you say. Interesting… Jinx, dear, would you mind joining me in a little vandalism?"

The meta's own eyes narrow as she nods in agreement.

"I'd love to. See ya' later, Giz."

The two vanish in a black portal, and Giz stares at his screen with a grin.

"I think this should give the clutch-head somethin' to really piss him off," he laughs before initiating his virus and shutting the connection down…  
******************

Raven and Jinx materialize on an abandoned street, Jinx's knuckles red.

"That was fun. Shame I couldn't cave in bird-brain's damn empty skull while I was at it."

"Maybe the chance will come yet," Raven offers. "If he has a backup plan I didn't foresee-"

Jinx reaches into Raven's pocket and pulls her cell phone free.

The psychic stares at her in confusion as her fingers quickly work on the keypad, a frown of concentration on her face.

She types something in and snaps the phone shut with a sense of finality, just as Raven begins inquiring into her actions.

"If you get even a hint of trouble, you just hold one down. I'm going to let you go in alone like you asked, but I'm not leaving you alone with the guy who came up with _that_ plan. I'll be across the street at that book store you showed me. I get a call from you, and I'll be there as fast as I can run."

She hands Raven her phone back, a frown on her lips.

"I really wish you hadn't asked me to leave you to it, Rae. The man built a fucking magic _cage _to completely take you out…"

"Zatanna is the only threat he has against me, and against me her powers are nothing," Raven responds with a shrug.

Seeing her lover's frown, she leans in and kisses her, feeling her tension slowly drain away.

"I'll be fine, Jinx. If something happens, you'll get that call. If it comes to a fight, Victor would not take sides, and Garfield would be too wrapped up in wondering what the hell was going on."

"And the alien? Rae, the woman can punch a hole in a car with her bare fist. I've seen her pissed off. If she were to hit you, even your body would-"

"Koriand'r would not fight," Raven interrupts. "If it came down to Richard manipulating her into joining… I have a few ways that I would be able to get her to abstain. Zatanna really is the only threat, and if I'm in my soul-self, her magic can do nothing past concussive force to me."

Jinx stares into her eyes, concern burning bright.

"Alright," she finally sighs. "I don't like it, but I've grown up since Wally… It's your fight to take, if it comes to it."

Raven smiles, gently cupping her neck.

"I definitely lucked out," she muses.

"Damn right," Jinx declares with a grin. "I didn't do too bad, either."

With a smile, Raven presses another kiss to her lips as her soul-self envelopes them.

When they appear in the alley behind an office building, the women separate, both wearing small smiles.

"Find something good to read. Have some coffee. I'm hoping it will not be long and will come to something agreeable."

"I hope so, too. It'd be great if you could still hang out with the others."

Raven nods, her smile waning some.

"Indeed. And about the other matter-"

"You don't need to worry, Rae. I ain't complainin'," Jinx says with a grin.

"But you don't think that it's rather sudden?" she asks with a grimace, their discussion whilst dismantling the cage coming to mind.

"Oh, sure, it's definitely sudden. Sudden don't mean bad, babe. 'Sides, I really want to get used to wakin' up like that. Remember, I was onta' the whole inner feelins' stuff before you. It ain't sudden for _me_."

"If you're sure," Raven surrenders, her smile opposing her sigh.

"I am. It'll take me a few days to get you a key. Steel might take some convincin', but if he takes you in, not much he can complain 'bout, right?"

Raven's smile is even wider as the ground at her feet opens in an inky, black hole.

"See you in a bit."

"Get goin' before I convince ya' to make a stop home for a little fun, first," Jinx laughs.

Drawing a deep breath, Raven centers herself and slowly sinks into a portal.

She rises up on the rocks outside her home, her senses expanding immediately in search of threats.

She feels the presences of all the Titans in the Tower, Nightwing and Zatanna's dark emotions seeming to grate in the air against the utterly content and happy emotions marking the others.

Eyes narrowed, she feels attentions in the tower focus on her, Zatanna's magic seeming to scrape against her as she walks to the door.

When the door slides open silently from her push, the talking within immediately cuts off, and all eyes move to her.

"Yo! Rae, where ya' been? We were just gettin' ready ta' send… a… uh, Rae?" Cyborg asks, his attention finally taking in her long hair and the black of her nails.

Nightwing's eyes narrow at her as she moves into the living room, her body showing none of her tension.

"Where the hell have you been? We put in several calls for almost a whole day, and you didn't respond, at all," he demands with a growl.

Beast Boy goes to make a calming remark to the man when something catches his attention, his nose scrunching up.

"Holy shit, Rae, you stink like a whorehouse!" he gasps.

"_Should've showered_," Raven groans, mentally smacking herself.

"What is this house of whores?" Kori inquires in confusion.

Raven's face turns bright red, and she ignores the glares focused on her.

"It's a very ineloquent way of saying I've recently had sex, Koriand'r."

An amused smirk crosses her lips at the gasp and blush that immediately comes from the alien, her face almost matching her hair in its color.

"Uh… yeah," Beast Boy says with a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I kinda… I'll be quiet now."

Only Cyborg sees humor in the situation, with the others staring at her like she'd scandalized them.

"You've been having sex for an entire day? I don't think so," Nightwing snarls. "Now answer me, Raven."

In response, she simply raises her eyebrow at him, finding his amusing.

"_Evidently he hasn't checked on his toy_," she muses internally.

"You've never marathoned?" she quips, unable to suppress her laugh at his blush.

"Don't-"

"If it's any consolation, it was very engaging, so it could have very well been just that if I hadn't had other priorities. But no, not just having sex, Richard, if you _must_ know. I was paying attention to things. Had an issue arisen, I would've been there. As it stands, some Intergang thugs are all that showed up in my absence, and that hardly constitutes a threat."

"You're part of my team. I call, you show up, that's how it works," Nightwing growls.

"And would you like me to bring you a newspaper in my teeth, too?" she inquires, biting back a laugh at his shocked expression.

"Was that a joke, Rae? When'd you get a sense of humor?" Beast Boy asks.

"I've had a very enlightening day," she responds with a shrug.

With a gesture, she raises her long hair towards them, making sure they see her black nails as well.

"_Very_ enlightening."

"Making another portal for daddy?" Zatanna mocks.

A brief flicker of irritation shoots through Raven, but the effect the insinuation has on her friends quickly grounds her once more.

"Hardly. He's dead. I killed him, if you'll recall. I merely undid something the monks of Azar did to me in my youth. If you want a reason for my absence, Richard, I can tell you that I wanted to be on my own while dealing with it, but I doubt you'd believe me anyway, and I'm through lying. I didn't want to stay anywhere that you two were," she states with a gesture to the pair.

"I thought you guys worked through all that," Cyborg groans.

"You're right, Raven, I don't believe you. You'd say that to our faces instead of hiding away for almost a full day. I want the real reason, _now_," Nightwing demands again.

"I did not _hide_. I removed myself from what effect your presences had on my psyche with a much more enjoyable and calming influence. When I gave you my report on my altercation with Psimon, I got the distinct impression you wouldn't mind not having me around for a while," she adds with a small smirk.

"Whoa, Psimon? Like, freaky brain-in-a-head-jar-thing psychic guy?" Beast Boy inquires.

"Off topic," Nightwing hisses. "Answer. _Now_. You know I'll find out exactly where you've been with who if I want to, Raven, so save the show and just save both of us some time."

"Will you?" she challenges. "That sounds vaguely like a threat, Richard. _Don't_ threaten me," she adds with a small hiss sounding in her voice.

"Whoa! Okay, hang on, guys. What the hell's goin' on?" Cyborg demands as he shoots to his feet.

"Richard, I owe you no explanations of what I do in the process of getting more answers to what's happening with the thefts. We established that. If I happen to find someplace that isn't in the growing irritation you two are on my senses to sleep while investigating, it isn't really an issue."

"You _don't_ go off the grid, Raven, not with the people you get your information from," he snaps.

Her own eyes narrow, her mirth vanishing at his tone.

"And _you _don't command me out of power over me, Richard. Do not think otherwise."

Nightwing takes a step back, eyes wide at the growl in her voice.

"As for you, Zatanna, do not think yourself so great as to lie to my face and think it believed. Your apology had little meaning to it, if any existed at all, and from your comment, you appear to still believe me nothing more than a demon. I've let it go, because at least _I_ meant what I said then, but you have become no less an irritant on my nerves than you were at your arrival."

The sorceress's eyes go wide in shock, the others staring between the women.

"And both of you are utterly intolerable at this stage. I decided I needed a break, lest something unfortunate give in the struggle. I told you nothing, Richard, because it's frankly better to deal with the aftermath than dealing with your egotism when you would inform me I'm not free to do as I wish."

"Well, I could see how I'd be an _irritant_," Zatanna muses. "I mean, with how secretive and sneaky you've been, I could only imagine that you wouldn't want me jumping to _conclusions_. Like how you've got all kinds of demon mojo working for you now, for example. I'm sure there's a perfectly understandable-"

"Other than the fact that I'm _half-demon_?" Raven interrupts. "With the power I released from within myself, what I've always kept hidden and locked down for the comfort of others is merely at the surface. It's not like it's something new, I'm just not hiding it any more."

"I bet it comes in real handy in the enemy's bed," Zatanna snarks back. "I mean, with you two stealing all kinds of dangerous magic items with no possibly good explanation in sight, I must just be biased."

"What're you-"

Raven's heart skips a beat, her skin paling at the insinuation.

"That's way outta' line," Cyborg barks.

Raven's mind whirls, things clicking into place in her mind and forming a very ugly picture.

"What're you guys even talking about?" Beast Boy demands, his own eyes narrowed at the three.

"Oh, she hasn't told you guys about her new _friend_? Shocker," Zatanna laughs. "She's been-"

"You followed me to Gotham," Raven muses, her voice silencing the others. "You watched me fight Psimon. You watched me _almost die_ against Psimon," she snarls. "He almost shredded my soul to pieces while you did nothing."

"I wasn't going to interfere with anything, even if I wanted to. 'Sides, you and your girlfriend handled him just fine, in the end, once you went all hellfire and red skinned on him," the sorceress laughs.

"Rae's dating a chick?"

Under the glares, Beast Boy shrinks into himself, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Shutting up now, I know."

Raven's eyes narrow further, the red specks in her eyes beginning to brighten.

"You were _ordered _to follow and not interfere even if I was dying. Oh, Richard, I _must_ hand it to you, you've truly become so very like your mentors."

Nightwing's face reddens in anger at the accusation, the others watching in shock as Raven's eyes begin to glow brighter.

"Don't you _dare_ compare me to Deathstroke," he snarls. "If we're laying everything out, then answer her accusation. Give me something I can believe other than what she told me she saw."

"Funny, I don't recall mentioning him in any specifics, just your mentors. You've had a lot of mentors, Richard. Interesting, indeed," she says with a small laugh.

"You're dating a villain, and didn't mention it to anyone. A villain who is a thief and a sorceress, and a damn good fit for a suspect in the heists. You're hoarding objects of power you collect while trying hard to keep separate from the Titans. You're stripping the power from the items you do return, and we've only got your word that you're sending them out to disperse and not into some focus, like the Gem of Blood you could have lied about on that first night. And you lied to my face about Psimon, and pocketed the ring before you and your new girlfriend disappeared. You were also transformed into your demonic self when facing Psimon down, and you almost killed him. Are _any_ of these lies?" he demands in a low, threatening voice.

"Whoa, okay, that's enough," Cyborg growls. "I knew about her datin', and I get why she wanted it kept on the d-l."

Nightwing's glare transfers to the metal man, seeming to narrow even further.

"You should've told me. Immediately."

"The world ain't black and white, Dick. Her girlfriend isn't exactly spotlessly clean, but she ain't an _enemy_, and it ain't our business. If she makes Rae happy and helps her help us, it wasn't somethin' I was gonna' bring up. If I thought for even a second it was somethin' dangerous to the Titans, I'd've convinced her to tell you herself."

"You really knew?" Raven asks while her skin turns pale.

"Yeah, I knew, girl. Hacker, remember? I get it, though. Another reason I didn't say nothin'. Ain't my business."

Raven nods at him, her blanch fading slowly.

"More importantly, I told him not to tell you, because frankly, I knew your first reaction would be looking into every aspect of her life," Raven cuts in. "It isn't your business as the team leader to cage me in this mass of steel because you think I'm dangerous. I gave you reason to be suspicious, but that doesn't even come close to matching your responses, none of which included just asking me and giving me a single reason to tell you the truth."

Her eyes narrow further, his other accusations rolling around in her mind.

"And Zatanna would know nothing beyond what she could see from whatever hole she stalked me from. If she were close enough to sense anything concrete in nature, I would've known she was there, which means she kept her distance. You know I've returned the items to their museums. For all Zatanna, and in extension you, knew, I could have teleported it to the museum on my way out."

"I know what I saw," Zatanna argues.

"I'm sure. And as for my treatment of the items, every single item that's been stolen is a dangerous weapon, put ignorantly on display in terribly guarded museums where they could easily be stolen from. I will not let my conscience suffer the wrath of putting them back with the powers they possess, as clearly the museums and the simpletons who have agreements with them care little about handing death in the thousands on a silver platter to any who would abuse their powers."

"Which gives us zero proof you're doing what you say you're doing with the power," Nightwing contends.

"Doctor Fate. Jason Blood. Etrigan. John Constantine. Hell, _Mumbo Jumbo_, probably, if he was pointed in the right direction. _Any_ mystic, good or evil, even Zatanna herself _should _be able to tell you I've done exactly what I said by looking in the right places. Energy is recycled, not destroyed, and the traces of my work are undoubtedly in the cosmos at large. By all means, make the calls. I made sure the power would be of no use to anyone, and I don't regret my actions. Power such as these items have need not exist."

"And you aren't the judge of that," Nightwing interrupts.

"Every item is without a scratch on its return. Their lack of power means nothing to the curators and ignorants who put them out in the open to begin with."

"And it _wasn't your call_," he reiterates through grit teeth.

"And whose call is it, Richard?" she challenges. "You wouldn't know magic if it bit you in the ass. If what I've been doing was dangerous, someone in the League would've gotten notice from Doctor Fate or another mystic who would know, and they would've been hounding me weeks ago."

His glower falters at that, a thoughtful frown forming.

"Okay, you have a point-"

"The hell she does," Zatanna interrupts. "You've been fucking a thief, who's a sorceress. The two of you could've done more than enough to throw people off."

"Who I date is not your business, just as I do not inquire into any of _your_ affairs."

The wince that passes over both of their expressions is not missed, by Raven or Cyborg. Even Beast Boy's eyes narrow in thought, though Kori seems too focused on Raven to notice.

"Friend Raven, surely it would have been better had you just told us. You've found someone to make you happy. This should be most joyous news. Surely-"

A small smile curves on Raven's lips, her eyes warming as they leave the pair and move to the other Titans.

"Thank you, Koriand'r. But I couldn't, for more than just petty reasons… She has her reasons to remain hidden."

Her gaze moves back to the others, instantly hardening once more.

"And I'm giving you one warning not to insult her, Zatanna. She is a _reformed_ thief. She's helped me in my search cleaning up _your_ mess, by far more than you have. Even if Richard will never publicly approve, and will always beg ignorant bliss on this matter, the results speak for themselves. I have returned many, many of the stolen items, and her information has helped everyone else, as well. That network of underground magicians and monsters I fabricated has, the entire time, been only the information she and a close circle around her have gotten."

"Which kind of proves my point. There's no way that she'd know all that without either being among the thieves, knowing the thieves, or having the a network stronger in intelligence gathering than the Justice League."

Raven's eyes narrow, her mind working quickly on how not to compromise her lover...  
**************************

_Author's Notes_:

Incendio- Latin for "burn"

Next chapter, the climax of the first part of the story. I hope you're enjoying a great deal thus far, at least as much as I have writing it. Let me know what you think, be it positive or negative. Thank you for reading thus far, and see you all next time!


	25. Fallout

Fallout

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

Zatanna stares Raven down, her amusement entirely out of place.

"Well, which one is it, _Raven_? Is she a thief, a friend of thieves, or a spook?" she demands.

Raven considers her options, the cell phone weighing heavily in her pocket.

Cyborg, too, seems uncomfortable, apparently true to his word on understanding the situation.

Finally, Raven decides on tried and true sarcasm and distraction.

"Or perhaps the Justice League doesn't take much to top. It took anonymous tips to bring your attentions to the thefts to begin with, so you guys don't seem too on top of things. I don't honestly care where her intel comes from, just that it's always right and she didn't steal them."

"I don't believe you," the sorceress growls. "Even if it's true, that you're returning a ton of these items on perfectly on the level information, there are damn sure to be a lot of items you _haven't_ returned."

Raven's eyes narrow at the accusation, the red in her eyes glowing brightly.

"So that's it. You truly think _I'm_ the thief behind a worldwide heist scheme," Raven bites out, even the thought making her ill.

The others all stare in wide-eyed shock at them, waiting with baited breath for Zatanna to deny it.

"You're amassing a power for an eventual attack on the scale of your father. You're stealing them with the help of a convict who skated on a life-term imprisonment for murder after escalating from theft after she left the Titans," she replies.

"It makes sense," Nightwing adds, though he seems not nearly as convinced.

Raven ignores him, approaching the sorceress far more quickly than a human would be capable.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on, you're dating _Jinx_!?" Beast Boy asks, staring in shock at the psychic. "She totally bailed on us. The hell're-"

"Garfield-"

"Shutting up, I know," he grumbles, glaring at her.

"Zatanna, I've given you your only warning. Think on this. Were I a demon as you assume, and had you insulted a loved one as you have, what reason would I have to not separate your head from your neck?"

The tone, more than the question itself, sends Zatanna several steps back, her eyes wide.

"As for Jinx, she was screwed over. Heavily. In fact, I've been toying with the idea of launching a formal investigation into the senator and judge who made sure she had no chance of fighting for her _justified_ defense on the part of an incapacitated man."

"That's bull! She'd have called someone-"

"Everything about it was crooked. As I said earlier, I know when someone lies to me. She didn't. This was months ago, when I had absolutely no reason to believe her, and I still did. She didn't get a phone call. In fact, she was sent to Belle Reve and almost killed over it, numerous times, because she was on _our_ side."

"Then you could call the warden right now and-"

"You wanna' piss off Amanda Waller by wasting her time?" Cyborg asks, interrupting her and surprising them all.

"What?"

"I told you, too. I know the whole thing. Her story's on the up-and-up. She killed the son of a senator, who was beating the shit outta' some chump. He didn't show up to court, and the senator pressed on the judge's pious hang-ups about metas. She was denied her rights, put in a closed court, and shipped off without any chances to contact anyone."

Zatanna remains unfazed, something alien moving in her gaze that sends Raven's skin crawling.

Once more, it vanishes the instant she notices it, but this time she's sure of its existence.

"Which is all utterly irrelevant. She's _on our side_. She's done your job a lot better than _you_ have, Zatanna."

"Which still seems to imply she has a very personal idea of where to look. At best an enabler. The two of you make more sense than anyone else. You can teleport, you can hide from senses and mess with awarenesses, and you can mess with cameras and electronics. She can more than make people confused with her powers. I've been reading up. She could fry memory with a controlled hex bolt. And both of you are magic users, who would have _every_ reason to be the thieves."

As Zatanna lists off her reasonings, the others notice the air in the room becoming distinctly colder.

As if matching the change, Raven's eyes lose their red glow, the purple becoming an almost icy shade.

"By that logic, you could be behind it, too, _Zatanna_."

The sorceress's eyes widen almost comically at that, her jaw snapping shut.

The others turn their gaze to her, their thoughts obvious.

"I'm not!" she shouts, as if scandalized.

Raven pauses as her words register in her mind. A nagging thought slips into her mind, one that gives her reason to be more wary of the sorceress.

Putting the sensation off for when Jinx's presence will help her sound her thoughts out, she returns her mind to the problem at hand.

"No, you aren't. Or at least, you're on the lower rungs of my list of potential suspects. But your logic is too weak to settle on _any_ culprits," Raven argues. "Come up with better reasoning before accusing me."

"Right now, give me anyone else who would be a better fit for being able to do this all on their own? We've been looking for an organization this whole time, but if it's really just one or two especially dangerous and skilled sorceresses with a penchant for thievery and being criminals, that would've made it a _lot_ harder for us. So go ahead, tell me how my logic's unsound, Raven," Zatanna sneers.

"Do you want an alphabetical list, or a chronological one?" the psychic snarks back.

Her hand comes up, her index finger rising between Zatanna's eyes.

"Teleportation's a factor? Kydd Wykkyd can do that and he's not to the best of my knowledge even a magician. You, Etrigan, myself, Doctor Fate, Wotan, and innumerable other magic wielders have mastered what is, essentially, a pretty basic technique for anyone with magical talent."

"And how many can do it without any manifestation?" Zatanna returns. "I leave smoke everywhere. Fate comes through a giant, glowing ankh. Etrigan's got fire all around him whenever he pops in. Maybe Wykkyd, but he's nowhere close to the power he would need to be at to pull it off. _You_, on the other hand, come through literal darkness, which interferes with electronics and is hard to spot in even dim lighting."

"Fair enough. But your smoke is theatrics, you can slip through that hat of yours, or through thin air if you want. As could someone like Wotan. We'll go out on this thin limb of thought you're calling reasoning. Off the top of my head, I can think of three people right now who are among my biggest suspects, who would both be more than powerful enough to do this and would have the reason to do it. That alone tells me your reasoning is narrow-sighted if you immediately conclude I'm the culprit."

"Oh? _Do_ tell?"

A twitch of irritation goes through Raven at the sorceress's tone, her eyes narrowing against her.

"If you're going based on my method being hard to pinpoint due to the darkness I use, there's the Shade. If you're assuming it's me because I can do such feats as hide myself from you that, I'm sure, seem astounding to you due to the difference in our skills, then there's also Morgana Le Fey and Circe. There. Three people off the top of my head that would easily fill your broad scope."

The others stare at Raven in shock, her open mockery utterly unexpected.

"No, please, I'm sure you've got a witty retort. I can keep going. I have a _long_ list of people I'd think capable of these thefts before I got to your name, so we could do this as long as you wish to waste my time on something so utterly simple, if you want."

Without warning, Zatanna's fist lashes out for Raven's throat, her eyes narrowed in humiliated rage.

Smirking, the psychic sidesteps her swing and brings her foot out, sending her sprawling forward with her own momentum.

"_Really_? I'd say you've embarrassed yourself enough this night already. Do I _really_ need to put you on the floor before you get a hold of yourself, Zatanna?" Raven asks with a small chuckle.

"Oh, I bet you'd _love_ to get me on the floor," Zatanna snarls as her body moves into a spin.

The kick is well-executed, signs of learning from the Batman himself shining in the perfect balance of her swing.

Her leg moves in a blur, moving to smash Raven's neck and send her wheezing to the ground.

Despite the power behind the move, her kick soars over Raven's ducked head, the half-demon's eyes narrowing in irritation.

Her hand wraps around the sorceress's ankle, holding her in place on the verge of falling.

Muscles creak under her grip, Zatanna's face contorting into a wince at the sensation of crushing steel on her joint.

"Were it a year ago, maybe even a few days ago, I would simply let your persistence in irritating me go and head off to meditate. I'll give you this warning once, Zatanna, and you ignore me at your own considerable risk. Do _not_ think you can come at me with just your fists."

The sound of something snapping in the air draws her attention to her side, where Nightwing's metal bo staff points at her head.

"I'll extend that warning to you as well, if needed, Richard."

"**_Enough_**!" Cyborg shouts, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Rae, put her down. Dick, you don't drop the staff, I'm going to bend it in two."

The half-machine's irritation rolls through Raven in waves, making her wince as it adds to her own.

Forcing her shields back into place, she feels something slip away from her mind as she lets Zatanna go.

The sorceress screeches as her tether disappears, her utter lack of balance sending her onto the floor.

Only a thin sheet of black light keeps her from smashing her face, her eyes widening in surprise as she's slowly uprighted by Raven's soul-self.

Nightwing doesn't move, his narrowed eyes locked on the half-demon before him.

"You don't pick fights here," he says through gritted teeth.

"I picked the fight. Of course. Truly, I'm at fault for her being so easily goaded from me pointing out why she's simple-minded to accuse me on such weak bases," Raven laughs.

Zatanna stomps up to her then, eyes narrowed.

"Personal space," Raven muses at her proximity. "I've warned you, so if you're getting this close, then it must be out of something other than thinking to swing at me again. I assure you if that's the case, only one angry woman's allowed this close to me, and you aren't her… though I suppose that wouldn't really matter to you, would it?" she ponders.

The statement takes Zatanna off-guard almost as much as it does Raven herself, her eyes widening as she ponders what could cause her to voice such a thing.

Before she wonders on it too much, though, she notices Zatanna's expression.

The sorceress's face shows many things in that moment. Shock, understanding, and rage are there. But a burning pulse of anger sweeps through Raven at the utter lack of sorrow or regret.

Raven moves to stand a mere inch from the startled sorceress, her eyes narrowing.

"The hell're you talking about?" she demands. "I haven't done-"

"Do _not_ finish that lie. It's very unwise to lie to my face. You can posture a higher moral ground than Jinx and I due to our past actions and blood all you want, but at least when _we_ started dating, we were both single," Raven hisses out.

She doesn't realize the volume of her accusation until she feels the shock rippling through the room.

Instantly, her eyes widen, a sense of dread creeping across her spine.

"_What_ did you say?" Zatanna demands, her eyes narrowed to slits.

"Just a point of thought, the next time you try to go high and mighty on me, that you should consider yourself able to argue ethics and morality if your record is unblemished, which I imagine it isn't entirely" Raven says, hoping the others don't connect the dots because of her.

By the feeling of terror coming from Nightwing, and the anger and shock coming from Cyborg first, and then slowly Beast Boy and Starfire, she knows her wishes will not come true.

"Raven, what're you talking about?" Cyborg asks, though his glare is focused on Nightwing.

"Absolutely nothing beyond speculation, on a topic I have no business knowing or talking about," she sighs with a last-ditch effort to negate the words that her mind hadn't fully worked through before they escaped her.

Zatanna's eyes narrow even further, and her arm pulls back in preparation to swing at the psychic.

But then, a look of pain crosses her expression, and the limb drops limply at her side, the hints of tears beginning to form.

Raven's own mood quickly goes lower, the regret of her statement mounting with every second of Koriand'r's growing sadness.

"F-Friend Zatanna?" the alien princess asks, unable to keep the quiver from her voice.

Zatanna's tears begin breaking free, and her body starts shaking.

"I-"

"I fucked up," Nightwing finally speaks, his voice vibrating with regrets of his own.

"H-How long?" Kori asks, her own tears forming as her fear is turned to reality. "How long has the… _affair_," she says, finally remembering the word Raven used, "been ongoing? And how long has Friend Raven known?"

"I… I figured it out yesterday," Raven says, her mask gone in the face of her emotions. "I… I didn't intend to do this to you, Kori. I'm a complete bitch."

"You did n-nothing, Friend Raven," Starfire argues, her voice quivering as she rises to a stand. "I… wish to be alone for a while."

Her utterly broken tone pushes Raven to motion, quickly materializing before the alien.

Before, hugs had been a rare thing even with her one female friend.

Now, it comes easily as she pulls the alien into her arms, feeling the weight of her head on her shoulder.

Nightwing stares at the women, his own pain and anger clear through his mask.

"Kori, I'm so sorry, I-"

Kori's head snaps up, her expression cutting his speech off.

"I do not want sorries, Richard. I… I do not know what I want. Perhaps an explanation… When I am not… _volatile_."

With a bone-crushing hug to Raven, the alien vanishes through the door, the psychic's own eyes burning as they stare at the ground.

"You bitch," Nightwing hisses, eyes narrowed to a murderous glare on her.

Raven's head snaps up, the others shocked at the tear tracks on her grey skin.

"I assure you, Richard, you cannot make me regret my words more than I do. All the same, do not _dare_ to blame your actions on me."

"You didn't tell her out of loyalty, you told her to win a petty fucking _argument_," he snarls, stomping towards her.

Raven's sadness vanishes in the wake of her anger. Anger at all three of them, her own part not deniable.

Cyborg advances then, his fist slamming into the side of Nightwing's face.

With a grunt, he falls to the floor, blood leaking from his split lip.

"Rae ain't the asshole here. How long you been screwin' Kori over? Ain't you always goin' on 'bout how we have to be moral paragons for everyone?"

"He isn't wrong," Raven tells the metal man, staring at her former leader. "I didn't… I was hoping he would man up and tell her. It wasn't my place to say anything… I was absolutely not in the right using it for spite… I didn't expect _this_ when I took all my emotions back in."

"I was planning on telling her," Nightwing growls.

"Of course you were. Eventually. Maybe after a month or two of fucking them both," Cyborg growls, his eye narrowed dangerously at him.

"We were both planning on telling her," Zatanna cuts in. "It takes two… It wasn't like we planned for this to happen."

"And you," Cyborg growls, turning on the sorceress. "The hell!? You knew him when he was younger. Shouldn't you have known better than to get wrapped up in this?"

Zatanna's eyes go to the ground, tears shining in her gaze.

"I came here to keep watch on Raven and ended up being here for a lot longer than I expected, which meant a lot more stress… There's no excuse, for what either of us did, but at least we were planning on softening the damned blow."

Her eyes rise up to narrow at Raven then, and this time, the alien sensation of her gaze doesn't go away.

Raven's own gaze narrows, a mental limb moving to the sorceress to find what it is as a very unpleasant sensation takes hold.

"What's done cannot be undone. I came here for a reason, Richard, and it was not this. That said, this is undoubtedly the source of our problem. If you think with your upper head for a few seconds, you would not immediately jump to agreeing with the theory that I would betray those I've protected for 7 years alongside of you."

His eyes narrow in anger once again, the discussion a fine distraction for them all.

"Because you're in such a fantastic position to convince me right now," he snarls.

"I regret my handling of that. However, no matter that I needlessly hurt my friend or that you two are nowhere close to being able to lecture me on the morality of my dating, I would still have no need to convince you of anything."

"Frankly, I think it's pretty stupid of you to think that, anyway," Cyborg adds. "Rae's been nothing but a help with this whole damn investigation, and by extension, that means that Jinx has been, too."

"Victor, you don't think this is all a little too convenient?" Zatanna asks with a frown. "Look at this mess. With just a few words, she completely avoided any of my questions."

Raven's eyes narrow at that, and she floats towards the sorceress with a red glow to her gaze.

"Then let me make things crystal clear, Zatanna Zatarra. I have not stolen anything. I am not part of the people who have, nor is Jinx. Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. And if you decide in your blind, prejudiced arrogance, or your possession, or whatever has made you such the fool that you are, that _you_ can threaten _me_ **_or_**_ my love_, I will teach you what regret really is."

"Is that a threat?" the woman responds with grit teeth.

Raven's lips curl into a smile at this, sending a shiver through Zatanna that, for just a brief moment, shoves a spike of fear through the haze of her mind and pushes her body into an instinctive backpedal.

The others in the room shiver as a strange sensation floods the air, and Raven's hair floats wildly around her, whipped by a wind they can't feel.

"It is not a threat. It is a geas. I don't know why you so soundly assume me to be the mastermind of the thefts your organization had to receive help to notice, much less why you assume me evil when _I_ had to save all of _you_, because _you_ were so arrogant to begin with."

Zatanna cringes at the tone of the psychic's voice, the fog clearing utterly from her mind and making her realize just how poor her goading and decision making has been for months.

Just as she begins wondering what caused such a change, the fog snaps back onto her mind, with a force almost powerful enough to send her to the ground.

Her psyche is compressed, and the fog takes a firm hold, becoming Zatanna after her months of resistance.

"Know this, Zatanna. Whatever force drives you, whether it's truly just you alone in your mind or the influence of another, I will _not_ tolerate your ego to persist. I'm going to leave, and if you _ever_ see me again, you'd better hope for your own sake that you've overcome whatever stupidity bounces around within that cavernous bubble that lies beneath your hair."

If not for the utterly terrifying presence Raven's threat fills the room with, both Beast Boy and Cyborg would have certainly laughed at the insult.

As it stands, they are just as frozen as Nightwing and Zatanna, even if they aren't as afraid as the sorceress.

Zatanna's eyes suddenly fill with a silver light, and her hands point at Raven.

"_Ffo kcab_!"

A magical wave rushes forth from her hands, and her eyes widen in shock as a shell of black light slams into existence around Raven's body.

Her spell smacks into it, and the force whips back around.

Raven's soul-self disappears in wisps of black smoke as Zatanna slams into the ground, not visibly hurt but very clearly shocked.

"What-"

"Your spells do not have any hold on me, anymore than your fists would," Raven interrupts with a shrug. "Remember that, were I decide to retaliate right here and now, you would have been the initiator after more than adequate warning against such actions. As it stands, I'm just too tired of you to waste more of my energy. Stay down, and do not rise again until I've taken my leave, if you have any inkling of self-preservation instinct."

Zatanna gasps, even her fogged mind knowing the wisdom of staying on the floor.

With a grunt, Nightwing slowly rises, his hand fisting in her cloak as he stares down at her.

"You're acting a _lot _like the demon you claim not to be right now, Raven," he mocks.

"Because I will not tolerate prejudices anymore?"

She laughs at the notion, advancing on her former leader in the same way she had the witch.

"No, Richard, I am not a demon. I'm not human, either. As I said, a _very_ enlightening two days. I undid what the monks did to me in my youth. For the first time, I'm just me, and I'm through catering to fears of me that have no warrant. One side-effect of this is that I'm no longer going to tolerate insults based solely on what I _can_ do."

"So you deal with this by doing _exactly_ what you _can_ do? Might want to rethink that," Richard mocks.

"You think _that_ is what I can do? Throwing a simple spell back at its caster? If _that_ is what you're afraid of, then I really did overthink your intelligence, Richard. Though I suppose the fact that you so readily jumped onto a theory-"

"I didn't _readily jump_ onto the theory. You've been acting off for months, which makes sense considering Jinx. I wanted to believe it was the thieves stealing things. I sent Zatanna after you into Gotham hoping she'd come back telling me she was wrong. And every single action you've taken in the last months made a lot more sense when she gave me that report. It makes more sense that you two would be able to do all of it than most other thieves, and it'd explain why the criminals never told us anything, since there are a lot of them that're terrified of you."

Raven pauses at that, the lack of untruthfulness warring with the sense of wrongness coming from him and clashing in her mind.

Finally, her irritation wins out, a new light on his actions not making for much better of a picture.

"Then you would have not publicly aired everything. You would have asked for my side of the story, in private. I can admit that I have also erred with my handling of things. But you would assume after a one-sided, biased account that I'm not only a thief, but a villain, despite all I've gone through to avoid that fate. You would have trusted her report but verified on your own, if you were any decent detective."

His eyes narrow at that, his body stiffening as he takes a threatening step towards her.

"You've got a lot of arrogance yourself. Zatanna gives me that report, and then you go missing for nearly 24 hours. You then show up, after ignoring _every single call_ that I made to you, and you look like when you were turning into the gem for Trigon. The idea that you have, in fact, been acting as a villainess is not so hard to buy anymore."

"Then you're an idiot," Raven hisses.

His eyes narrow at that, both at her and at Cyborg's agreeing nod of his head.

"You're suspended from the Titans, effective immediately. If you want back in, you'll turn everything you haven't already returned to the Justice League."

"Even were I to have any more items at present to give, the _Justice League_ let these items get stolen in the first place! The only one I'd trust with them would be Doctor Fate, and I don't exactly have a V.I.P. pass to his Tower to hand them off. Do not mistake my regret for Kori's pain for weakness to your petty threats spurred on by self-loathing. I was planning on resigning when I came here."

"I think that might be a good idea," Cyborg adds, glaring at the former Boy Wonder. "If this is how you treat your friends, I'm not havin' any of it. I thought you learned from the whole Red-X stuff about goin' behind backs."

Nightwing winces, releasing his grip on Raven.

"You're dangerous, Raven. I can't let you just go on your own. Why do you think I-"

His words return Raven's rage, her sadness entirely vanishing as red once again glows in her eyes.

"Kept me under constant watch? I won't be a threat to you, Richard. To do so would be sinking to your pathetic level. Unless, of course, you plan on using your hidden cell to mentally stunt me for the rest of my life at your convenience… Well, if you could, at any rate. I destroyed it earlier, on my way here."

His eyes widen in surprise, seeming truly shocked.

The expression, and the bubbling up of all her negative emotions, becomes too much for Raven, and she quickly finds herself laughing in his face.

"You _really_ thought yourself so subtle around me that you kept your little _contingencies_ secret? Something's been wrong for weeks, and imagine my surprise when I found you planning something only Deathstroke could be proud of."

"Raven-"

"I have some friends other than Jinx. With some help, I destroyed every hint of your plans. Not just for me, either. Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Jinx are removed, too, as are a few other people of interest. Your plans are gone, Richard. And I've gotten some guarantees in place."

"What-"

Nightwing's question is cut off as Raven's hand wraps around his throat.

Her eyes narrow to slits as she pulls him through the air towards herself.

Even Cyborg stares in shock at the display of strength, muscles they'd never seen on her before flexing as she brings her former leader off the ground.

He wheezes at the pressure on his windpipe as she pulls him to within an inch of her body.

"If you _ever_ try putting the plans I've removed, which I've no doubt you've memorized, or any of the remaining plans in your secret folder, into action, very, _very_ bad things will begin happening. The least of which being the Justice League's attention being brought to your unfitness as a leader. I'm not impressed with them, but they have more than enough authority to remove you. Were it not for the fact that your treachery is currently unrelated to your ability to coordinate missions effectively, this meeting would've occurred with you already in a cell of your own. And that's only in the case of the other Titans. If you hurt my personal friends and loved ones, Richard, I will show you what a _demon_ I can truly be."

She drops him then, his body immediately backpedaling.

Her statement sends the man reeling, his emotions making him seem almost as broken as Kori.

A small, very vindictive part of her revels in his misery, wishing to make him feel as miserable as she knows her friend to be.

"Richard, if she's tellin' the truth about that, I'm done," Cyborg intones, glaring menacingly at the man.

"So am I. And I'm going to make sure the others find out, too," Beast Boy adds, appearing ready to lunge at the man.

Before he can reply, the monitor between them comes to life as video begins coming through.

When the image resolves in, Doctor Fate's upper body fills the screen.

"Am I… interrupting something?"

"Nah, we were just 'bout done," Cyborg states, Nightwing cringing at his tone. "What can we do for ya', doc?"

"Actually, I was calling to talk to Raven. I unfortunately could not find personal communicator numbers, so I thought this the best way to contact her."

All eyes are on Raven as she moves to stand in front of the monitor, eyebrow raised in question.

"I was recently looking into some things, and I saw a very grim, unpleasant future. What I've been seeing has changed since I saw that, once you started to send the magic in those items out. I feel something great will come from the service you're doing the universe, though it's certainly very beneficial that dangerous items cannot be used by dangerous people anymore."

Nightwing and Zatanna both wince, Cyborg glaring at the pair in response.

"I just thought you should know that your work has been making things better, and not just in an immediate sense."

"And your timing is entirely coincidental, I'm sure… Thank you," Raven responds with a nod, the gratitude in her voice shocking.

"Before I go, I also wanted to tell you that, as you did with the goblet of Erszbet Bathory, some items are better suited dealing with the core of their very existence. Some items cannot be defeated by simply draining them."

"I shall work on my skill, Doctor," she responds with another nod.

With that, the feed cuts off, Nightwing and Zatanna's faces turning redder by the second.

"I-"

Raven turns to face them, her anger clear in her expression.

"Much like Koriand'r, I don't want an apology. I don't want _anything_ from you, Richard. Your utter humiliation is more than enough."

She quickly jerks something out of her pocket, her communicator seeming to crack under her white-knuckled grip.

With a swipe of her arm, the device lands in Cyborg's outstretched hand.

"Richard, I'm officially resigning from the Titans. _That _is what I came here for today. You and Zatanna can go fuck off with your arrogance, that you were so damn right that you didn't even bother checking your facts in my absence."

Cyborg and Beast Boy both stare at her in shock, not remembering ever hearing the psychic curse before.

"Where are you going to go?" Nightwing inquires, cringing at the red glow to her glare.

"I don't have to tell you a damn thing. If you're worried about me becoming a vengeful demon, you can shove it. I know where I'm wanted, and Jinx treats me after several months a _lot_ better than you have after 7 _years_ of working together."

Her expression softens as it moves to Cyborg.

"_You_ are not included in this statement, Victor. You've been an element that has kept me from not returning at all, for a while now. Should you choose to, you, Kori, and Garfield will not go ignored when contacting me. You'll know where to look if you want to get in touch with me."

The metal man nods, his own expression grim.

"Gonna' have to set up a meet at some point. Haven't seen that girl in ages. I'm glad, for botha' ya'."

"Thank you, Victor. Pass the message to Kori?"

"You should do it," he disagrees.

"I hurt her, too," she states with a shake of her head. "It would be better coming from you."

"Alright… And tell Jinx sorry for me, then. I would've helped her in a heartbeat if I'd known."

A smile creeps across her lips, and his eye widens in shock as she pulls him into a quick hug.

"She knows. See you around, Victor."

Nightwing moves towards her, teeth grit and eyes narrowed.

"Raven, you're not just leaving. You started this damn team, and Doctor Fate notwithstanding, there are still a lot-"

He grunts under the sudden impact, dropping to his knees and gasping for breath.

Raven stands over him with her fist at her side, her soul-self glowing black around her knuckles.

"Do not press your luck, Richard. I should kill you and Zatanna both for what you planned to do to me, and frankly, I would be perfectly justified. My new emotions are, at any rate, far too raw and new to test me any further than I've already allowed. You don't get to have an opinion on my actions."

He remains gasping as she falls into the floor, her portal snapping shut behind her and leaving Cyborg and Beast Boy to glare at their possibly very soon to be ex-leader on the floor…  
**************************

Raven appears outside of the bookstore, moving unseen through the walls in a series of portals.

When she comes to a stop, she stands next to Jinx, who sits sipping a coffee at a table, removed from anyone's view.

Feeling her lover's presence, Jinx looks up and gasps, immediately shooting to her feet.

"Rae, what happened? Did-"

Raven pulls her into a hug, feeling the burning of her eyes grow worse as she rests her head on the meta's shoulder.

"I am not hurt. Not physically, anyway."

"I'm gonna' kick his ass," Jinx snarls.

"Been there, done that. Let's just go home?" she inquires.

Her tone makes Jinx shudder, the sound not one she wants to hear ever again.

She quickly slaps a bill onto the table and tightens her own hold on the psychic's body.

They fade into the floor, unseen by anyone else, a strange sense of melancholy rippling through the store the only proof they'd been there to begin with…  
***************************

_Author's Notes_:

Edit 10/28- I don't know how I missed it, but an entire segment was duplicated. That's fixed now. Thank you Spikesagitta for pointing it out!

This turned out a lot more vindictive than originally intended. I think it's better for it, actually. I didn't think to show the good and the bad of Raven's change, originally. At any rate, I hope you've thoroughly been enjoying yourselves as I have writing it.

Be sure to tell me your thoughts, both on what I've done well and what I haven't. One thing to note is that I'll be participating in the NaNoWriMo in November and I don't have enough of a backlog built up for the second part of the story yet to carry me through. As such, chances are good that updates will be once per week during November. Since I'll be in the writing spirit, though, I may end up writing enough to throw extra chapters in occasionally.

Either way, see you all next time, and I'm glad that you're enjoying thus far along with me!


	26. Entrapped

Entrapped

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

_1 year later..._

Raven watches the spell coming at her, an amused smirk coloring her expression.

"_Really_?" she inquires.

Her assailant's eyes narrow as his spell suddenly veers off course, exploding in a shower of black sparks at her side.

As the white glow of her eyes dissipates, she lets her smirk fall somewhat.

"Do not play games with me, Faust. You know why I'm here. Save yourself some pain," she offers.

She floats above the stone floor in the darkened amphitheater, the shadows seeming to coalesce around her form.

The sun, high above them, gives little reprieve from the illusion of darkness in the harsh stone building surrounding their prey.

The man opposite her studies her form, eyes glowing a dark, golden color as he does.

As the rumors have said, the former Titan is distinctly different in both appearance and personality to when she was their secret weapon.

Where her former uniform had been a shade of blue almost dark enough to be black, the cloak and leotard she wears now is a pure, pristine white.

Most jarring, though, is the change in her body itself.

The brilliant, ruby specks in her violet gaze reminds Felix Faust of encounters long past and creatures better forgotten.

This thought is amplified by the jagged, gleaming black claws hanging from the ends of her fingers, seeming sharp enough to rend flesh with ease.

A shining, silver necklace in the shape of an ankh hangs from a thick chain around her neck, and the way it floats on a wind he does not feel sets him on edge.

Gritting his teeth, he grips the staff in his hand more tightly, his knuckles going white from the pressure.

Something nags at his senses, and a small smile creeps along his face, reminding Raven of a snake.

"_You're_ here. That implies a singular entity. A solo assault for your cause. Interesting."

With a flourish, he raises the staff high into the air and swings it in a powerful arc.

As it moves, a brilliant golden glow surrounds the gem resting atop the precious metal.

When he comes to a halt, a ray of power blasts outward, turning the air to steam as it passes towards the shadows.

A figure rolls out of its path, brilliant pink light making itself known before it again vanishes into the thick shadows.

"You have a friend, it seems," he muses, eyes casting about in search of the psychic's rumored teammate.

"Could've been a cat," Raven replies with a shrug. "I hardly need help from a mysterious guardian angel to beat you, even with that item you stole."

At that, he turns his attention back to her with hate burning in his gaze.

"Is that so? You seem to be quite assured of what you know of such an ancient item as this," he growls.

Raven snorts, wondering at how easily the sorcerer is distracted.

"_All the items we've gotten from them, and they're still so cocky. Amazing_," she laughs mentally.

The year since her departure with the Titans has been a very beneficial one, even as the heist investigation has not yet come to an end.

Once she gained the D.M.A.'s resources, Jinx's team had become a force in the retrieval and investigation of the objects of power and their heists.

It certainly helped that just under eighty percent of the stolen items had remained not only in America, but almost entirely within the half of the country the women's home resides.

"Ancient staff, supposedly the very one fabled in the Journey to the West. All very impressive, but I feel that if it was really Sun Wukong's weapon, the King would've come for it a long time ago," Raven deadpans.

His eyes widen, staring between the weapon and the psychic.

"_More informed than I thought. This must end now_," Faust thinks.

As he goes over plans on how to best distract her so to land a devastating blow, he misses the pink, sparking light taking form in the shadows directly behind him.

By the time his mind takes notice and sends him to action, the hexbolt slams home.

He groans as the staff is blown free from his hand, spiraling quickly through the air with smoke rising from the metal.

As he attempts diving to grab it back, a solid mass of black light forms and wraps around the weapon.

When he begins backpedaling out of his charge, the glowing hand quivers and another beam of the blackness slides free.

He moans in pain as a small fist of energy backhands him in the stomach, sending him tumbling through the air and into the stone behind him.

The staff quickly finds its way to Raven's hand, and she grins as Jinx emerges from the shadows, her feline, pink eyes glowing.

Groaning, Faust pushes himself back to his feet.

Shaking his head to clear the spots filling his vision, he glares at the women standing before him.

"Foolish. Too easily distracted. Won't happen again, I assure you."

He quickly raises a hand towards them, and they watch as his blue robes violently begin whipping around his body.

Black mist begins forming about his feet, and Raven meets the red-eyed gaze of what lay within.

"_Surge, bestiarum tenebrarum_!" he chants.

The mist solidifies, and the women stare on as three ugly, furry creatures wreathed in living shadows take form.

Dark, blood-red eyes stare back at the women, fangs seeming made of smoke and flames flickering in and out of view.

A grumbling, throaty roar sounds from the beasts, and Faust smirks as they begin advancing on the women.

His mirth vanishes when Raven's own eyes turn the same color, and the little light penetrating the stone shell around them leeches away from her body.

"_**Conculco**_," she snarls.

Her voice seems to make the very air around them vibrate, and with a whine reminiscent of mere dogs, the shadowy creatures stop their movements and lean back on their hind legs.

Smiling at them, she points her index finger at Faust, and he visibly pales as they turn on their summoner.

"What? How-"

"You really need to keep up on things," Jinx laughs, leaning her head on Raven's shoulder.

"Indeed. Hellhounds are not the best advised weapon to use against me," the psychic adds in her normal voice.

As the beasts lunge through the air at him, he waves his hands, and their forms dissolve.

The last disappears just as his fangs begin to tear into the stringy sorcerer, and he falls backward with a grunt as it vanishes.

Raven appears overtop of him, an eyebrow raised in amusement even as her hellish, red eyes, now numbering four, stare down at him.

"Now, if you would, professor, I'll get out of your… well, not hair, obviously, but I'll leave you to your devices when you tell me who's behind the heists."

He glares up at her, his headdress slanted and comically covering his face.

"_Vade ad infern-"_

A foot suddenly comes down atop his shoulder, a sickening _crunch _sounding.

"None of that, now. Just tell me what I want to know. I'm sure you'd prefer someone else be going through this humiliation," Raven states.

Groaning, he clutches at his shattered shoulder, eyes tearing up.

"Wotan. I've stolen nothing, he's the one that gave me and a number of others what we seek. Go bug him," he says between gasps of pain.

Nodding her head, Raven floats back to her lover's side, her eyes returning to their natural form.

"_Obliviscor_," she whispers.

The sorcerer's eyes glaze over, and by the time he awakens to gaze at his surroundings in utter confusion, the women are gone.

Just as his memories of the staff, their fight, and the breaks in his shoulder are…  
****************************************

"So… Wotan, huh? Isn't he a pretty heavy hitter? Shouldn't he, I dunno, be somewhere more mystical than Jump?" Jinx inquires.

The women move along the rooftops of Jump City, both of them simultaneously pleased to be home and unhappy about the potential risks.

"The man has a very similar aura to Doctor Fate's. We're just going where his residue on the staff takes us," Raven responds with a shrug.

"Fair 'nough. Doesn't seem all that different, huh?"

The two pause in their travel to look around the city, melancholy rising up.

In their year since Raven's resignation, the two have found themselves very rarely able to enjoy their home together, always out somewhere hunting for an object of power.

The long time outside of Jump has meant no run-ins with the Titans while doing their job, something both women were perfectly content with given the developments following her departure.

It has also meant no small amount of homesickness, however.

"When we get this done, what do you say we head to the Angelique? It's been a long while. They might not even remember us," Raven states.

Jinx stares at her lover, floating cross-legged in the air around her.

"Somehow, I doubt that. Kinda' hard to forget us," the hex caster laughs.

"True enough. Is that a yes?"

Grinning, Jinx leans forward and plants a kiss on her.

"You have to ask?"

"It's a date, then."

"Yep. So this guy's like Fate? That's not good, right?"

The man had been the only League Member their team had worked with in their retrievals, taking items deemed too dangerous to handle or destroy on three separate occasions.

The first time she'd met the man in person, Jinx had been terrified that any being could live with the raw, magical power that he seemed to be made from.

That Wotan is similar is not a pleasant thought.

"It could be bad," Raven agrees. "On the other hand, this is huge. If Wotan's a supplier-"

"Then he'd probably be high up with whoever's behind all this. Ya' know, I really just can't wait for this crap to be over so we can actually relax a bit."

"Like Steel'd let that happen," Raven snorts.

"So, what do you think? Should we call someone in?"

"Hmm… Think I could send a beacon without calling Wotan to us?" Raven asks, pondering on what range the villain can sense.

"If he's like Fate, I'm gonna' guess not. Who knows if he's going to move or attack? Well… Shall we, then?" Jinx sighs.

With a nod, they continue towards the docks, the staff vanishing in a pool of black once Raven is sure of the man's presence.

They quickly move to the ground, and move like shadows towards a boathouse.

As soon as they reach the sides of the entrance to the structure, though, a realization sets in.

It may be the way Wotan stands idly in the building, staring right at them that tips them off.

More probably, it's the large, cruel grin adorning his lips that lets the women know they were lured.

Raven grabs Jinx's hand and begins to vanish in a bubble of soul-self.

Before they can complete the transition, though, a hand wraps itself in her cape and they are harshly jerked onto the wooden docks.

"Your troublesomeness certainly outweighs your intelligence. Else you would not have come looking to die from one as powerful as I," Wotan mocks.

The women move away from the sorcerer, his grin revealing a series of fangs that glint in the sunlight.

"And I'd suggest not turning tail, demonling. You aren't the only one who can transverse dimensions with a mere thought."

"Did I hear him say we're troublesome?" Jinx asks with a grin.

"Make no mistake, you _are_ irritants to our plans," Wotan states. "Hence why I made sure to not shapeshift with those I supplied objects to. You would eventually find me. That you were foolish enough to come to me without aid is more than I expected, though."

Raven's eyes narrow, and the red in her gaze glows brighter.

"We probably should've considered that," Jinx muses with a grimace.

"Gizmo will never let us hear the end of this," Raven groans, her agreement clear.

Jinx drops into a low stance, her fists rising to be in front of her face.

Pink light begins flowing around her body, and her eyes become like lenses of the color.

"Don't suppose you brought us here because you're secretly displeased with your employer?" she asks through grit teeth.

Wotan laughs, the sound almost causing the women to shiver.

"Nothing of the sort. You are a minor irritant. However, you are irritants nonetheless. Even with a full year of your work together, and gaining strength, if the reports I've read are proper gauges, you two are insects in my shadow."

His grin widens, and they tense as his body lifts from the ground.

"Azarath Metrion Zin-"

Raven's chant is cut off as a wave of light leaves the sorcerer, the ground where she'd stood liquefying.

A series of waves follows the first strike, sending Raven into an aerial dance to avoid certain death.

With every dodge, the margin gets narrower, and both Raven and Jinx go to work with creating a plan.

As the newest wave comes at her, Raven sends a fist of her soul-self into the body of the attack.

The energies collide, and a brilliant explosion sets off, blinding both herself and the dark mage.

Jinx uses the moment and throws a ball of pink flames at him, the air crackling and smoking in its wake.

Just before her large hexbolt lands, though, Wotan's body shifts.

Her jaw drops open as his body splits in the center, leaving a hole large enough for her attack to pass harmlessly through.

As his skin knits seamlessly back together, the solid bad luck collides with the wall, and a loud _groan_ sounds.

In seconds, a metal beam bends and snaps downward, the brunt of its weight coming down directly on top of the pink-haired meta.

Before she becomes crushed, though, a bubble of blackness surrounds her body, and in a blink she finds herself at her lover's side.

"That didn't work."

"No, it certainly didn't, whelps," Wotan laughs. "I believe it's my turn, now."

As his eyes glow with power, the women notice for the first time a golden necklace coiled beneath his head.

The necklace takes on an ugly, red hue, and sparks the color of old blood begin leaping from his entire form.

"Morgan Le Fey's necklace packs _quite_ the punch, I must say. Don't know _how_ she managed to lose something so potent."

The name sets warning bells off in Raven's mind, and a shield of soul-self slams into existence around them.

A second later, his attack unleashes, and Raven groans under the impact.

Her body begins sliding backwards as she throws her physical strength in with the mental, pushing as much as she can into the barrier.

And yet, Jinx watches in horror as the shield begins to fracture and crack, even as she applies her own power to it as well.

"What the hell!?"

Raven doesn't respond to her cry, her body trembling under the weight of the power pushing towards them.

She grabs onto Jinx's arm with a shaky hand, and the two are immediately swallowed in a black pool, just as her barrier explodes.

When they rise up, their hands are linked and their power flows like magma in retaliation at the sorcerer.

Grinning, he spins to face them.

Even as he begins to show signs of his own fatigue, their attack is blown to pieces when he utters ugly, guttural noises and throws a disk of gold into its center.

"I'll admit, you put up better challenge than was expected," Wotan sighs. "I might even have a fight to contend with were it not for the witch's necklace supplying me with all the energy I could need."

"So who's backing all this?" Raven inquires. "Certainly not the hag."

"Know respect for your elders and superiors, demonling," Wotan hisses, his eyes narrowed on her.

"Well, you brought us here to kill us, so I mean, it's not like satisfying our curiosity would kill ya'," Jinx adds as she catches on to her lover's plan.

"Very true, but I won't answer you all the same. Honestly, even I do not know more than suspicions of who organizes us."

"You guys don't seem very _organized_," Raven challenges, hoping he misses the slight glow between their palms.

"Well, that's to be expected. We are many, all hired for the same goal, to serve unknown financial backers looking for the objects we collect. It's naturally bound to be chaotic in nature, yes?"

Wotan's eyes suddenly narrow, and he frowns in thought, as if something bothers him.

Only Jinx seems to notice the small smile curving her lover's lips, the expression so subtle only she is capable of picking up on it.

That does not, however, mean that she can decipher the cause of such an expression at such a terrible time.

But Wotan doesn't miss the pinkish cast to her gaze, and his teeth bare themselves in angered warning.

"To be expected, I suppose, demonling. Are your _inclinations_ how you've destroyed such a large chunk of the objects we sought? How you've pushed the goal back by more than a year?"

Raven smirks at that, the red hue to her eyes burning clearly now.

"Goal you say? Interesting. I've no idea what inclinations you mean, though. Azarath Metrion _**Zinthos**_!"

The women's connected hands come up in a fast whipping motion, and a large raven made of fire shoots outward.

Black and pink light spiral and mesh within the raven's form as it flies at the sorcerer.

It is the four burning, glowing red eyes on its skull that gives Wotan warning of the fatality of its collision.

As it meets with his body, a wall of green light explodes into existence, pressing the psychic weapon back.

Raven's eyes narrow in concentration, and more of her power flows into the attack.

As her barrier before had quickly begun to crack, so too does Wotan's shield quickly succumb to the force of her soul-self.

But more of the ugly language begins rolling from the sorcerer's mouth, and Raven's eyes widen in horror at what begins happening.

As he speaks, their weapon begins to expand and grow, large sparks of black and pink bursting from its body.

Everywhere the sparks hit, the boathouse and docks begin to warp and bend, seeming to shift through realities.

"Raven?"

Jinx's scared tone matches the emotions rolling around in her own mind, and she immediately cuts the power off from her namesake.

Wotan looks at the damage around him, a grin adorning his face even as large beads of sweat roll around his skin.

He points at the women, and another wave rises from Morgan Le Fey's necklace.

The red glow of Raven's gaze intensifies, and with a powerful sweep of her fist, his attack is knocked off course by soul-self.

She then sends her own attack at the man, bursts of pink light accompanying it.

And so it continues, the dock slowly breaking and shattering as the trio continues their fight.

For a small eternity, their exhaustion seems to be matched, even as their attacks lose none of their potency.

And then, something shifts, and the women realize that the necklace is keeping Wotan on a much higher level of stamina than either of them have.

The tide changes, and Raven notices how reality continues warping around them on the docks as they continue.

"We… can't… keep this up," Jinx gasps, just as she comes up from her recent backflip.

Ravens' response is interrupted as Wotan's spell throws a blade of his energy for her head, aiming to decapitate her.

Even as she manages to dodge it, the blade manages to tear a line from her shoulder, blood quickly sliding down her arm.

Cursing, Raven wraps a bubble of her psyche around her lover and herself, and a mass of black in the form of another raven shoots skyward.

Before they manage to make any distance, or come up with a good strategy, the ugly voice sounds once more.

And Raven's retreat cuts off, another curse sounding from her lips.

The women float in the air at the edge of the glowing grey bubble, knowing that they're truly ensnared...  
****************************

_Author's Notes_:

Sun Wukong is the Monkey King, a character in the Chinese fable _Journey to the West_.

Surge, bestiarum tenebrarum- Latin for "Rise, beasts of darkness"

Conculco- Latin for "Heel" (verb)

Obliviscor- Latin for "forget"

So that's the start to the second half of the story. There's almost certainly going to be some Hellblazer later on. It's probably going to get a bit darker from here, though at present I haven't quite finished planning out the story's course. Also, as I suspected, I have nowhere near the backlog built up to do two updates a week, so it'll probably be Monday updates from here on.

Hope you're all enjoying the story so far! Whether you are or aren't, let me know! See you next time.


	27. Storm On the Horizon

Storm On the Horizon

_Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based._

The women stare at the energy bubble.

Neither tries to hit it, and yet they both know doing so would end poorly.

With a curse, Raven sets her bubble down once more on the docks, her soul-self evaporating in a thick cloud of black smoke.

As soon as their feet are on the ground, Wotan sends a blast of thick, black vapors at them.

They float high into the air the same moment the attack lands, turning the wood where they had stood into rotted black chunks.

"Umm… Can you do anything like that?" Jinx asks, watching the melted dock drip down into the waters below.

Raven looks at the damage with a thoughtful light to her expression.

"Perhaps. Not really the time to test new waters, unfortunately."

The air explodes with an echoing _snap_, and Raven immediately pushes into her girlfriend's side.

Their bodies vanish into her portal as Wotan's attack lands, the edge of Raven's cloak flickering into bright orange fire.

They rematerialize behind the sorcerer, Raven's soul-self already forming to tightly wrap around his body.

There's a bare flicker of discomfort against the crushing force, and Wotan gives a small chuckle.

"_**Fulmen hasta**_!"

Raven's soul-self immediately pulls away from him, taking the form of a thick black dome over the women.

Just as it takes its curved form, a blast of black lightning arcs down from the sky and slams into the shield.

Raven grunts under the immense pressure, and with a grunt of effort pushes her shield into a higher angle.

Sweat breaks out on her brow as the magic lightning is redirected into the docks below.

Seeing the struggle, Jinx tightens her hold on the half-demon's shoulder and pushes her own hex magic into her.

The shield flashes with a pulse of pink light, and the lightning cuts off with a booming explosion in the sky.

Raven takes a calming breath, and her eyes begin glowing slightly red as they focus on the sorcerer.

"Shall we?" she inquires.

Jinx's eyes gain a bright pink glow of their own, and she nods, her gaze never leaving the Chaos Lord.

"Let's," the meta agrees while grabbing her lover's hand.

A ball of dark pink light surrounds them, centered between their connected fingers.

"Azarath Metrion _Zinthos_!"

Wotan watches as a spike of black leaves the women's hands.

"_Cīranā_," Jinx adds.

After advancing towards him several paces, a blast of pink moves through, and his eyes widen as thousands of sparking blades of soul-self begin weaving towards him.

His eyes narrow in a harsh glare as he goes on the defensive, dodging their attack with surprising effort.

Her metahuman eyes tracking his every movement, Jinx brings her free hand up and follows him with a pointed index finger.

Her fingertip glows like a star, and with a grin, she brings her energy to bear.

"_Fulmen hasta_," she calls out, echoing his previous spell.

Wotan's head snaps to the side as Raven's astral spikes send him right into Jinx's counter-attack.

The black lightning comes down from the sky, moving to destroy the evil mage down to his very atoms.

As she wields the spell, Jinx's mind realizes what it is, and just how amazing Raven's resistance to the primal, chaotic force really is.

Wotan, however, seems only slightly impressed, from all she can gather from his response.

He flicks his hand towards the incoming strike, and his eyes flash into pure, green lenses.

"_**Cȏpula**_!" he shouts.

Jinx's eyes widen as the power is wrested utterly from her control with the word, the sudden change leaving her trembling against Raven's side.

Before Raven can say anything, the black lightning curves in the air and begins moving fast towards the women like a snake.

The half-demon immediately pulls her soul-self away from their enemy and into the attack, the spikes coiling around the energy as though it's solid.

Her efforts slow the strike, until Wotan pushes more of his power into it.

Jinx, seeing the sudden increase in size of the lightning bolt, immediately reacts.

Her hand wraps around Raven's midsection, and she throws her body weight against her.

The women tumble out of the air, and fortunately the lightning's path as well.

As they fall, Jinx's hand opens, and as soon as it forms, a ball of her hex energy flies into the core of the lightning.

Pink light spreads through the energy, and the attack is cancelled out the same time they crash painfully into the dock.

"Ugh… Okay, we picked a bad fight," Jinx groans.

"You've no idea, whelps," Wotan laughs, suddenly standing only steps away from them.

"_Whelps_? _Really_? How old are you, exactly?" Jinx asks with a laugh.

"A better question. How did you so easily duplicate my spell?" he demands.

"I learn quick and had a good teacher," the meta states with a shrug. "Prob'ly has somethin' to do with having a bit of chaos, myself."

With a huff, Raven forces herself back to her feet, her eyes now glowing bright scarlet.

"Azarath _Metrion __**Zinthos**_!"

Her hand lashes out, and Wotan is taken aback by the very physical assault.

Black smoke rises from both her knuckles and the spot on his chest where she connects.

He glares up at her from his spot on the ground, nearly half the dock's length away from where he'd stood.

"We're done," she intones.

The next second, Raven's entire body pulses with red light.

Like ink washing out from paper, her skin loses its grey quality in favor of the blood-red that takes its place.

Four glowing, hellish eyes glare at Wotan, and her muscles slowly expand as she flexes.

Her feet spread apart, and her hands come together, overlapping in front of her glare.

Her palms, along with her eyes and cloak, flood with a dark, obsidian glow, and Wotan quickly rises to his full height as he prepares for her attack.

When she uses her incantation this time, the dock rumbles beneath her, and with a shiver Jinx ponders how glad she is to have never been on the bad side of her girlfriend's power since they were both teenagers.

A massive spike of black sparks launches from her hands, the air humming as it passes.

Much to Wotan's surprise, however, it curves upwards as it moves, slamming right into his barrier.

As she pours more energy into her soul-self, the wood begins to warp around them.

Finally, reality begins to twist as her astral self imposes itself on their world, the water around them flickering between spouts of lava and pools of deep, dark obsidian sky.

The air where her mind meets the barrier begins to visibly tremble, and Jinx's eyes widen as Wotan's barrier becomes a very visible, green bubble of light.

Said bubble then, with an echoing _crack_, explodes apart around her demonic assault.

The spike moves instantly through the hole and into the air, no force resisting it now.

Shaking her head, Jinx pushes back into action and rushes the thoroughly distracted sorcerer.

Wotan's eyes glow, and he throws his own power into closing the barrier, not realizing the intent of Raven's assault until it is too late.

Realizing their window to escape is much too small, Raven's hands snap closed.

The tip of her spike explodes outward, not unlike a blooming flower made of pure nightmares.

Her beacon expands through the air, pulsing through several minds, just as she intended.

Raven continues sending out her power, though, on noticing her lover's rapid approach.

Before Wotan's focus can shift, the meta's hand glows bright pink and she reaches him.

In a matter of seconds, her hand slices through the chain around his neck and grabs onto the necklace.

She immediately moves into a number of somersaults backward, evading the meager effort he can afford to put into trying to retrieve the item from her.

The docks show the marks of her escape, wood splintered wherever her jump narrowly avoided his magical strikes.

Finally, she reaches Raven's side, and the half-demon's exhaustion shows through.

With a gasp, the red leaves her skin in the same manner that it appeared, her eyes fading back to solid violet.

"Are you-?"

Raven interrupts her lover's concerned inquiry when she wheezes, her body hunching over.

She leans against Jinx's side, the effort of calling on her blood much more tiring than it should be.

The meta human notices Wotan eyeing the weakened half-demon with a glare, and she immediately steps in front of her.

"Jinx-"

"You did good, Rae," she says with a smirk. "Let me have some exercise for a bit, 'kay?"

Normally, the protective tone in her girlfriend's voice would've made Raven feel somewhat weak, the same as she would expect were the roles reversed.

As she currently _is_ weak, though, she just gives her a small nod of confirmation and focuses on deep breathing.

"Be careful," she intones.

Seeming to have not heard her, Jinx's eyes begin glowing a brilliant shade of pink as she stares at their enemy.

Wotan's own gaze burns in a halo of angry light, and he points at the cloaked psychic.

"_**Conteratur**_," he intones, his voice echoing through the air.

The air in front of his open palm shimmers as if a heat mirage runs through it.

The shimmering quality expands, and Jinx throws her own hands up in the air with pink sparks flooding the dock.

The air shimmers around her own body, as well, then.

When the two forces collide, sparks of pink lightning begin setting parts of the dock alight.

"_**Mukaranā!**_"

The flames around them explode into massive blazes, glowing a dark red as both of their energies are sucked into them.

The air stops shimmering then, and the flames, sensing the disappearance of their food, vanish with a series of hisses.

Wotan stares down at her with a sneer, his hands coming together in a series of booming _clap_s.

"I did not expect that level of resistance. Perhaps your boast of being a fellow Chaos user was not so far from the truth, after all. All the same, let's see how long you can maintain that, though."

A sense of dread runs through Jinx, and she takes a step closer to Raven.

"_Dĭrimere_!"

The dock violently begins shaking beneath their feet, Jinx's eyes going wide at the sensation.

She watches as something rushes towards her, the invisible force ripping wood in its path as though parting a sea on its way to hit her.

Gritting her teeth, Jinx leans down and places her hands on the dock.

"Hope I've learned as much as I think, or this'll get ugly real fast, Rae. _Surgere, indomitus __**impedimentum**_!"

A bubble very similar to Wotan's bursts into existence, completely surrounding the women in a thick wall of pink light.

Jinx's eyes narrow as the force approaches, her entire body tensed for the impact.

When the energies collide, a blinding light explodes outward, completely filling Wotan's barrier to the point of even those outside the illusion being capable of seeing it.

Even with her sight robbed, Jinx feels the attack pressing down on her, looking for any weakness in her defense to slip past and kill them.

She closes her eyes, as much for concentration as to stop the pain, and focuses on dismantling the attack while keeping her resistance up.

Even exhausted and blinded, Raven is amazed with the progress her pupil has made, considering many of their educational sessions over the year had tended to get sidetracked.

Nonetheless, she feels the moment that her girlfriend's strength, spurred on by the amulet still clutched in her fist, starts to give under the pressure.

The attacking force is considerably less powerful due to her machinations, but the split of her attention means that so, too, is her barrier.

Raven feels it, the moment that the force manages to slip inside, intent on killing her love.

It doesn't even cross her mind as a thought when she throws herself at Jinx's side in much the same manner that had saved their lives not moments ago.

The barrier falls, and Raven immediately feels the force biting into her.

Her mind screams out as the being, some agent of pure death and destruction, begins to slip its miasma into her blood.

She falls to the ground in a limp, bleeding pile of limbs as the attack expends itself, all her remaining power focused on snuffing out Wotan's poisonous, invading life-force.

Jinx's sight returns the same moment that her love falls to the docks, blood slowly oozing from her forehead.

The gem in her chakra gives an insidious, black glow, and even as panic sets in over Raven's injuries, she realizes that to do that much damage to the half-demon would have meant certain death for herself.

Wotan sneers at them, approaching with purposeful footsteps towards them along the dock.

Jinx's eyes narrow to slits as he steps closer, seeming to be pure lenses of pink lightning.

"Back. _Away_," she snarls.

He just gives an amused chuckle in response, not so much as pausing in his advance.

"Demons are really a robust species, aren't they? You would've been nothing but ash taking that hit," he quips.

His hands begin to glow, and Jinx immediately moves to block him from getting anywhere near Raven.

"Do not bare your teeth at me, whelp. She had more of a chance at besting me, and she's not currently in any condition to even try," he mocks.

In response, she points at him with a hand wrapped in a spiral of inky, dark red energy.

"And then you hurt her. _Bad move_," she hisses.

With a harsh jerk of her arm, the energy disperses in a large, pointed wave.

The dock catches aflame in its path, the wood warping and falling in black chunks to the waters below.

Wotan's eyes widen at the chaotic energy pulsing through the air, and his distraction is exactly what Jinx hoped for.

With a pointed finger, a tiny bullet of hex energy shoots into the center of the wave.

For a second, the wave violently spasms and trembles, and then it explodes on the sorcerer.

Pink smoke and sparks floods the air as Wotan is thrown backward, slamming into his barrier with a _crunch_.

For a small eternity, all is silent save for Raven's pained gasping and the meta's panting.

Trembling, she falls to her lover's side, putting an arm around the likewise shaking psychic.

The glow vanishes from her eyes, the heavy use of her magic finally draining her.

Even as Wotan rises angrily to his feet, the meta does nothing but hold onto Raven.

"You did good, Nicole," Raven gasps, one eye cracked open despite the whimpers of pain it tears from her.

Wotan floats high above the hole Jinx's attack has left in the dock, his eyes burning with energy.

"You've tried my final bit of patience, whelps."

Even as she watches their deaths approach, Jinx can only smirk at the clear signs of damage she's left on the sorcerer, half of his face covered in soot and his entire body giving off clouds of inky pink smoke.

"I love you, Raven," she sighs, carefully lying down next to the psychic.

"Love… you too," said half-demon wheezes, giving the meta a sad smile.

Their hands clasp together as Wotan finally reaches them, his body towering over them.

It is then that Jinx seriously considers the possibility of some divine being watching over them, the same time that Wotan's barrier is shattered in an explosion of golden light...  
************************************

_Author's Notes_:

Fulmen- Latin: "Lightning striking"

Hasta- Latin: "Lance"

Cīranā- Hindi: "Split"

Cȏpula- Latin: "Leash"

Conteratur- Latin: "Be crushed"

Mukaranā- Hindi "Negation"

Dĭrimere- Latin: "Destroy"

Surgere- Latin: "Rise"

Indomitus- Latin: "Indomitable"

Impedimentum- Latin: "Barrier"

I'm writing with the theory that, in a year of working together, Raven would've taught Jinx a lot of tricks, which means she doesn't just throw around hex bolts anymore. So look forward to learning more random foreign words, because A) I'm a linguistics nerd, and B) the trope of English not being a good language for spells is something I notice is pretty common in the DC Universe.

Be sure to let me know what you think so far of the story. See you all next time!


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